Florida gunman struggled with mental illness

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The gunman shot dead after injuring three Florida State University students was a lawyer and foster child success story until he began acting so erratically that his one-time girlfriend feared for his life.

Myron May, 31, was cut down in a hail of bullets on the steps of the university library in Tallahassee when he fired on police instead of surrendering his automatic weapon Thursday night.

He was in "a state of crisis," said investigators, apparently grappling with severe mental illness.

May reported to police recently that he was convinced that there was a camera in his apartment and that he was being "watched and observed" and could "constantly hear voices coming through the walls talking about actions he was doing," according to an investigator's report.

May's ex-girlfriend told detectives that his behavior suddenly became extremely paranoid and erratic, and at one point he handed her a piece of his car that he was convinced was a camera planted by police.

His demeanor was a radical departure for May, who was described by his foster parents as friendly and helpful, and so bright that he earned scholarships to Florida State University and to law school. He had recently worked as a prosecutor in New Mexico, but suddenly quit.

"My office and my staff are in deep shock," said Mark D'Antonio, the district attorney for Dona Ana County where May was employed. It's "hard to believe," he told KRQE-TV.