FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 23 -- Laboratory tests have revealed the gunman who killed eight people, including himself, in a Fort Worth church last week was not under the influence of alcohol or any other drug. Dr. Nizam Peerwani, the Tarrant County medical examiner, also reported Wednesday that he found no signs of brain tumors or other abnormalities in the body of Larry Gene Ashbrook. Police, who are reviewing more than 70 witness statements, have found no explanation for Ashbrook's shooting spree, but some experts say facts about his life suggest he may have been mentally ill.
Ashbrook, who was described by neighbors as a moody loner, was disturbed about his inability to keep a job, according to writings found in the home he had shared with his father. He was also upset about his father's recent death. A spokesman for Ashbrook's family has said they were never aware of him being diagnosed with a mental illness. The family donated his body to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas for research and education. Ashbrook walked into the Wedgwood Baptist Church during a youth rally Sept. 15, shooting and killing seven people, and then turning the handgun on himself. Seven more people were wounded. ---
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