PELHAM, Ala. -- Alan Eugene Miller left for work with a soft drink and a few sausage biscuits -- just like any other day, his mother said.
But when he got to the office early Thursday, Miller allegedly had a weapon. Police say he shot two of his co-workers to death, then drove five miles to a former workplace and gunned down another man.The arrest of her son left Barbara Miller bewildered.
"I don't understand what's going on," she said at their home in Billingsley, about 50 miles south of the shooting in Pelham. "Alan didn't bother anybody."
The shooting spree in this Birmingham suburb took place one week and about 144 miles down the road from an Atlanta office massacre that left nine dead.
Police charged the 34-year-old with three counts of capital murder. He was arrested after officers spotted him driving on nearby I-65 and forced him to pull over. Miller scuffled with officers briefly and a handgun was found in his car, police said.
Investigators did not describe a motive, and police asked employees not to discuss the shootings.
An attorney appointed to represent Miller, Mickey Johnson, said he had not discussed the crime in any detail with his client. He described Miller as "confused" when he spoke with him at the police department.
Sherrie Williams, a neighbor of the Millers, was surprised at his arrest and said the suspect had always been "real nice."
"We leave for work about the same time. He always speaks," she said. "He doesn't strike you as a fellow who would do something like they say he has done."
Pelham Police Chief Allan Wade said the suspect worked at Ferguson Enterprises, a heating and air-conditioning firm where the first two victims were shot to death. Officers arrived only minutes after being summoned at 7:04 a.m.
While officers secured that crime scene, Pelham's 911 dispatcher got a second emergency call concerning a shooting at Post Airgas Inc., a gas firm five miles from Ferguson Enterprises. The third victim was found there.