Gunman kills woman at US church, 2 men elsewhere

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) - A man fatally shot a woman decorating for a children's Christmas party at a tiny church hall and killed two men elsewhere in a rural township before he was shot dead in a gunfight with state troopers.

Three troopers in patrol cars were injured in a pursuit that began after the gunman, driving a pick-up truck, fired at them, police said. One trooper injured a wrist and then was hit in the chest but was saved by a bulletproof vest.

The gunman was killed during a final exchange of gunfire after ramming his truck head-on into another police cruiser, authorities said.

The shootings began in Frankstown Township, in central Pennsylvania on Friday morning and investigators were processing five crime scenes within a 2.4-km radius, authorities said at a news briefing. Troopers were responding to an emergency services call of a shooting in the township when they heard calls reporting at least one other shooting elsewhere, state police said.