Patrick Tracy Burris (August 8, 1967 – July 6, 2009) was an American

spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders in a short time, often in multiple locations. There are different opinions about what durations of time a killing spree may take place in. The United States ...

responsible for at least five known murders in

Cherokee County, South Carolina Cherokee County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,216. The county seat is Gaffney. The county was formed in 1897 from parts of York, Union, and Spartanburg counties. It was named ...

in 2009. Over a span of six days, he shot and killed five people. His final known victim died of her injuries in the hospital on July 4, 2009. On July 6, 2009, police shot and killed Burris during a shootout in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. His gun was matched by

ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets and the like; the science or art of designing and acceler ...

tests to the bullets used in the murders.

Personal life

Burris was known to police as a

repeat offender Recidivism (; from 'recurring', derived from 'again' and 'to fall') is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to Extinction (psycholo ...

. At the time of his death, he had a criminal record running to more than 25 pages in length, and had just served an eight-year sentence in jail and was released in April 2009. Neil Dolan, deputy director of the

South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is a statewide investigative law enforcement agency in South Carolina. SLED provides manpower and technical assistance to other law enforcement agencies and conducts investigations on behalf of ...

, said of Burris: "He was unpredictable. He was scary. He was weird."

Murders

Burris committed the first murder on June 27, 2009, in

Gaffney, South Carolina Gaffney is a city in and the county seat, seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the upstate South Carolina, Upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is known as the "Peach Capital of South Carolina". The population was 12,53 ...

. Peach farmer Kline Cash's wife informed investigators that she and her husband, 63, had spoken to a man about buying hay. After Mrs. Cash left to run some errands, the man returned, and shot and killed her husband in the Cash's living room, where she found his body upon her return. Four days later on July 1, Burris killed Hazel Linder, 83, and her 50-year-old daughter, Gena Linder Parker. They were bound and shot to death. The following day, Stephen Tyler, 45, was killed in his family's appliance and furniture store; his fifteen-year-old daughter Abby was shot and seriously injured when she came to check on her father. The two were found by Tyler's wife, his older daughter and an employee. Abby Tyler died due to her injuries on July 4. Burris was questioned about killing a 31 year old nurse named Matt Stewart, but was found not to have been involved with the murder.

Death

On July 6, 2009, police were called to a

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

in progress in

Dallas, North Carolina Dallas is a town in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, and a suburb of Charlotte, located north of Gastonia. The population was 4,488 at the 2010 census. It was named for George M. Dallas, Vice President of the United States under ...

, a small town in the northern portion of

Gaston County Gaston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 227,943. The county seat is Gastonia. Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911. Gaston County is included in the ...

. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a vehicle matching the description of the murder suspect's

Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of Sport utility vehicle, SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first five-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer, was introduced as a replacement for the three-door Ford Bronco II ...

outside an apparently abandoned house. Upon arrival, police spoke with Burris, who gave a false name. Officer Kathryn Williamson was able to ascertain the true identity of the subject and discovered he was wanted for a probation violation. The three officers, Williamson, Jim Shaw and Graham Kuzia, entered the house. During the arrest, Officer Kuzia tased Burris and he pulled out a small handgun and fired, shooting Shaw in the upper thigh. The officers returned fire and fatally wounded Burris.

Ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets and the like; the science or art of designing and acceler ...

tests, as well as checks on the suspect's vehicle, later proved the dead gunman to be Burris. Investigators are now trying to determine if Burris is responsible for more murders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burris, Patrick Tracy 1967 births 2009 deaths 21st-century American murderers American mass murderers American murderers of children Crimes in South Carolina Criminals from Maryland People shot dead by law enforcement officers in North Carolina

Personal life

Murders

Death

See also

References