ROSWELL, N.M. - A man injured in a house explosion shot at his rescuers, killing a paramedic and a neighbor and wounding the fire chief and a child before committing suicide Saturday. <br>
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Police said they do not know any motive. <br>
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The shooter, identified as Paul Freeman, had suffered burns in the house fire and had sought help from neighbor Randy Houghton, said Officer Robert Giles, a police spokesman. <br>
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Steve Lovato, an emergency medical technician, and other fire officials were treating and questioning the man around 2 a.m. when he began shooting. Lovato and Houghton were killed. <br>
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``They (firefighters) took cover behind the fire truck, and it got shot up pretty good,'' Battalion Chief Gary Rogers said. <br>
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Roswell Fire Chief Louis Jones and a 4-year-old boy who was in the home were wounded. Both were airlifted to a Lubbock Hospital. Jones was in critical condition after surgery. The condition of the boy was not released by the hospital. <br>
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Freeman, a security guard at a bowling alley, killed himself, Giles said. <br>
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Other children were in the house, but authorities would not release any details other than to say none was wounded. <br>
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The cause of the explosion was still under investigation. The home was allowed to burn to the ground because of potential dangers involved in fighting a blaze of uncertain origins. <br>
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An investigative team was analyzing whether the explosion was caused by conventional explosives, natural gas or chemicals, including drug components, Giles said.
