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2 die, others wounded in Ala.

In two incidents 75 miles apart, suspects who opened fire were shot and killed by police.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Police in Alabama fatally shot two suspects Saturday following separate shooting incidents 75 miles apart that left several others, including two officers, wounded.

Authorities said Jason Letts, 38, of Jemison, opened fire early Saturday morning at a hospital in Birmingham, wounding a police officer and two employees before being shot and killed by another officer.

Police were sent to St. Vincent's Hospital around 4 a.m. to check on a report of an armed man inside the facility. Two officers who arrived separately converged on the suspect on the hospital's fifth floor.

"When the officer encountered the suspect, there was immediate gunfire from the suspect," Birmingham Police Sgt. Johnny Williams said. He said detectives were still trying to establish a motive.

In a separate incident, police officers in eastern Alabama shot an assailant armed with an AK-47 assault rifle toward the end of a pursuit that left several people injured, authorities said.

The pursuit began after a shooting in Cleburne County, Oxford Police Lt. L.G. Owens said.

Oxford Police Chief Bill Partridge said a woman and two children were shot, but he did not know their conditions.

Around noon, the chase reached the intersection of Leon Smith Parkway and U.S. 78, a busy retail district. Owens said the suspect fired at law-enforcement officers, injuring a Heflin police officer. Partridge said the suspect used an AK-47 during the firefight.

Officials said the suspect then forced his way into a Nissan, although the occupants were able to escape.

Police caught up with the assailant about an hour later in nearby Coldwater. Partridge said two members of the Oxford police SWAT team fatally shot the suspect.