7 killed in Tennessee had multiple blunt force injuries

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A medical examiner in Nashville said Tuesday the cause of death for seven people found dead at two rural Tennessee homes included multiple blunt force injuries and some sharp force injuries.

Michael Cummins, the suspect in the killings, had been within days of being arrested for probation violations when the bodies were discovered over the weekend at two Sumner County homes.

Davidson County Medical Examiner Dr. Feng Li said in a phone interview Tuesday that all seven were homicide victims. There was no evidence of bullet wounds, although Cummins hinted to acquaintances before his capture that he was armed with a gun. According to an affidavit, Cummins was wearing a blood-stained shirt when he told them, "if anything goes down, he would get blamed for it and was saving a bullet for himself."

Cummins, 25, had been on probation after serving just 16 months of a 10-year sentence for attempting to burn down a neighbor's house in September 2017 and assaulting her when she tried to put out the fire.

Cummins was released on probation in January, but his probation officer had been preparing an arrest warrant Friday for probation violations, Sumner District Attorney Ray Whitley said in a Tuesday phone interview.

Cummins was arrested on Saturday about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from one of the two crime scenes. He was shot and wounded while being taken into custody after authorities spotted him in a creek bed.

An affidavit filed with an arrest warrant Monday says Cummins violated a no-contact order with the neighbor whose home he tried to burn and failed to get a required mental health evaluation.

Whitley said the probation officer wasn't able to get a judge's signature on the warrant Friday, but, even if he had, it is unlikely Cummins would have been...