A gunman has killed at least nine people in a series of shootings across two towns in the southern US state of Alabama before killing himself. Officials say there were at least four separate shooting incidents. The gunman fired on homes, a petrol station, shops and vehicles in Samson and Geneva near the Florida border.  Five people - including a child - were killed in one home. Several of the victims are believed to have been members of the gunman's family.  The gunman has not been formally identified, but was named in the local press as Michael McLendon.