Man kills daughter, 6 minor grandchildren before shooting self

In yet another horrific incident of mass shooting in the US, a man has killed his daughter and six minor grandchildren before turning the gun on himself in north Florida, police said today.

The incident took place yesterday near Bell, a town of about 500, located roughly 48 kms west of Gainesville, where a man identified as Don Spirit (51) killed his daughter and her six children, aged 3 months to 10 years, before killing himself, Gilchrist County deputies said.

The shooter contacted emergency services '911' at about 4 pm, officials said adding, the first deputy to arrive at the house made a contact with Spirit before he committed suicide.

The deputy then conducted a search operation in the house and discovered the bodies.

"They had been called to the residence before for a "wide range of issues," deputies said at a news conference.

The identities of the victims have not been released yet, nor the motive behind the shooting.

In 2001, Spirit had shot his 9-year-old son during a hunting trip, when his rifle went off as he cleaned rust from the barrel, killing his son. The incident was later ruled as an accident, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

"We are asking for prayers for this community and the families involved. We ask for patience from the media and public as we work through this investigation," the Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on its Facebook page.

On September 13, one US state trooper was shot and killed while another wounded in an ambush outside police barracks in Pennsylvania.

In another incident earlier this month, three people were killed and two others critically wounded in a shooting in a residential neighbourhood in south Kansas City.

last month, a nine-year-old girl had accidentally shot dead a shooting instructor who was teaching her how to use an Uzi submachine gun.