A man accused of shooting indiscriminately at passing cars and police on a Tennessee highway has told investigators he was angry about police violence against African-Americans, authorities say.
One woman died and three others, including one police officer, were injured in the rampage.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a news release on Friday that initial conversations with the suspect, 37-year-old Lakeem Keon Scott, revealed he was troubled by several incidents across the US.
Scott, who is black, was wounded in the shootout with police, remains hospitalised and has not yet been charged. All those shot were white, police confirmed.
The announcement comes just hours after 12 officers were shot at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas by a man who police say declared he was angry about police shootings of black men and wanted to kill whites. Five of the officers died.
The shooting spree in Tennessee began in the early hours of Thursday local time.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation alleges Scott - armed with an assault rifle, a pistol and a large amount of ammunition - fired shots through the window of the Days Inn on Volunteer Parkway.
The front desk clerk, Deborah Watts, was struck and injured. She remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition.
The gunman then turned his fire to cars passing on the highway, investigators say.
Newspaper carrier Jennifer Rooney, a 44-year-old mother of two, was on her way to pick up papers for the morning delivery when a bullet struck and killed her.
The Bristol Herald-Courier reported that her car careened over a median and crashed through a chain link fence.
David Whitman Davis was also injured by flying glass from the gunfire, the TBI said.
Three officers with the Bristol Tennessee Police Department arrived and confronted Scott, who fired on them.
Office Matthew Cousins was hit in the leg. He was treated for superficial injuries and released.
Scott was stuck by the officers returning fire. He remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition.
