Washington  - A suspected spree killer believed to have slain five people in a week in South Carolina was shot to death in North Carolina.

Patrick Burris, 42, described as a career criminal released from his last prison sentence in April, was shot to death Monday in Gaston County, North Carolina, the Charlotte Observer newspaper reported on its website. A police officer was wounded in the leg in the shooting.

Later Monday, authorities tied the gun used by Burris and other evidence to the South Carolina killing spree that began when a farmer was found shot to death in an apparent robbery on June 27, followed by four more slayings in suspected robberies last week. Those victims were an 83-year-old woman and her 50-year-old daughter, and a 48-year-old man and his 15-year-old daughter.

When bullet evidence linked the crimes, a task force of 100 officers from several police agencies was formed to solve the case. (dpa)