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FULTON, Mo. (AP) — Police have captured a man wanted for questioning in a central Missouri shooting that left three people dead and one injured.

Police said 23-year-old Joshua William Maylee was taken into custody Thursday without incident in Cooper County, several dozen miles west of where the shootings occurred.

Authorities didn't immediately release more details.

A gunman on Wednesday killed 48-year-old Eugene Pinet and his 57-year-old wife Jackie at their home in the Holts Summit area. In a separate incident, a shooter killed 46-year-old Jeffrey Werdehausen and his 41-year-old wife Gina at their home in the same area.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

FULTON, Mo. (AP) — Police searching for a man suspected in a fatal central Missouri shooting spree warned anyone connected with him to leave the area Thursday, saying it's possible the slayings were intended to settle scores.

Authorities declined to discuss any specific motives, but records obtained by The Associated Press indicate one of the victims had received a stolen lawnmower from Joshua William Maylee, who police say they want to question about the shootings.

Sgt. Robert Bruchsaler of the Mid-Missouri Major Case Squad said people who have had past encounters with Maylee, 23, should contact law officers and move to a safe location.

"If they feel that their lives are in danger because of past dealings with Mr. Maylee, they need to find accommodations elsewhere," Bruchsaler said. It was unclear how many people may have heeded the warning.

On Wednesday, a gunman killed Eugene Pinet, 48, and his 57-year-old wife Jackie at their home in the Holts Summit area. In a separate incident a shooter killed Jeffrey Werdehausen, 46, and injured his wife Gina, 41, at their home in the same area.

Police said the killings were not random but have declined to why the victims may have been targeted. Bruchsaler has said the gunman used a high-powered rifle and a handgun, and that authorities believed he acted alone.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers were searching for Maylee, and evidence had been developed that connects the shootings, Bruchsaler said. He did not elaborate.

Maylee, of Holts Summit, has not been charged in connection with the shootings.

He does face two felony theft charges. A police probable cause statement in one of those cases says Maylee stole a lawnmower, valued at around $10,000, from a home in Kingdom City on Oct. 15, 2009.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Clark says in the document that Maylee told police in a July 20 interview that he put the lawn mower in an enclosed trailer and took it to Eugene Pinet's home. The lawn mower was recovered under a search warrant two days later, the document says.

It is not clear from court documents whether Pinet knew the mower was stolen.

Clark declined to comment Thursday. So did Callaway County Prosecutor Robert Sterner, who filed the theft charge Wednesday. Bruchsaler said he did not have firsthand knowledge about the theft investigation.

Bruchsaler told reporters that police have distributed a description of Maylee and a vehicle to law enforcement in bordering states. He said police want farmers to be on the lookout for a four-door silver Pontiac Bonneville on their properties.

On Oct. 4, Maylee also had been charged with theft for allegedly stealing a tractor from Holts Summit resident William Essen on March 24, 2009. Clark said in a probable cause statement that Maylee "confessed to stealing the tractor" and told police he kept it at his house for several weeks before taking it to Ashland, Mo., where it sold for $2,500. The document does not say who bought the tractor.

Essen told the AP on Thursday that he does not know Maylee and was unaware anyone had been charged with stealing his tractor, for which he paid about $14,000 in 2004.

"If somebody bought it for $2,000, that would be suspect — somebody would know it was not right. It was in good condition," Essen said.

The probable cause document includes a section on whether there are any facts indicating the defendant will not appear on a summons or poses a danger to the victim, the community or any other person. Clark wrote that there were none.

Police tape on Thursday blocked a gravel road leading to a property near where the Werdehausens lived off a twisty, unpaved road that cut through woodland. Beyond the tape were farm fields, livestock, several rusty buildings and some vehicles. No one could be seen on the property.

At the Pinets' address, police tape was attached to a fence and a tractor-trailer in front of a mobile home.

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Lieb contributed to this report from Jefferson City, Mo.