Gunman kills six in small-town shooting spree

Two others were wounded during the violence in north-west Washington State, including a policeman who was said to have been grazed in the arm by a bullet.

A high-speed car chase only ended when the suspect surrendered at the sheriff's office in Mount Vernon. He has been named as Isaac Zamora, 28, who had served a six-month county jail sentence for drug possession.

Isaac Zamora is taken into custody after turning himself in at Mount Vernon, Washington, following a high-speed car chase

The dead included sheriff's deputy Anne Jackson, 40, who was shot in the head when she called at a home in the small town of Alger, 70 miles north of Seattle, after calls for help from Zamora's family.

Another person was found shot dead inside the house when officers arrived to search for their missing colleague.

Two builders thought to have been working on a neighbour's house were also found shot nearby, and a third body was found a few houses away.

Shot dead: Deputy sheriff Anne Jackson had tried to help the Zamoras

A motorcyclist was shot in the arm at a petrol station in Alger.

'From what we were told, he was just going down the road and shooting at people,' said Washington state trooper Keith Leary.

After the shootings, the armed man raced south on the interstate highway at more than 90mph, with state police, sheriff's deputies and Mount Vernon officers in pursuit, the spokesman said.

Another motorist was shot and killed after pulling to the side of the road to let the gunman drive past.

A 42-year-old state trooper, Troy Giddings, was grazed by a bullet near a service station.

The first shootings were reported shortly after 2pm yesterday.

Zamora brought the car chase to an end by giving himself up at about 4.30pm.

He was released from jail a month ago and was under community supervision, officials said, adding that he had reported to authorities as required and had passed drugs and alcohol tests.

Zamora's mother Dennise said she had tried for years to get help for her son, whom she described as 'desperately mentally ill'.

'We're so devastated for the families,' she said. 'I wish it would have been him or me that was killed. That's how deeply I feel about it.'

Mrs Zamora said her son had become increasingly psychotic in recent days - though neither she nor police could say what had triggered the gun rampage.

Prior to the shootings, Zamora had been living in woods nearby and refusing to seek medical treatment, his mother said.

She described Sheriff's Deputy Jackson as a sympathetic figure who had responded to calls involving Zamora in the past and had tried to help the family.

'She was very gracious,' she said. 'She knew exactly what we were going through.'

The officer's best friend, Monique Stefans, said she had previously run a stables and was an accomplished horserider, adding: 'She just loved being a deputy. She put her heart and soul into it.'

A car lies in tall grass where it left the road after the driver was shot dead

Alger townspeople left stunned by the day's events. 'It's devastating for this town," resident Steve Thomas said, 'The people here are very law enforcement-friendly. It's very sombre.'

Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire called for an independent investigation and asked for a thorough review of Zamora's files.

'I will be directing them to look into how this case was handled and provide an initial report to me within 10 days,' she said.

State police closed part of the southbound interstate for a period last night to investigate the crime scene.

Detectives are investigating whether there is any connection among the shooting sites.