Police arrested a 36-year-old man early Tuesday in a wooded area east of Dallas after he allegedly went on a shooting spree, killing five people in four different locations the small east Texas town of Terrell.

"We're all in a state of shock," said Terrell Police Chief Jody Lay, WFAA-TV reports. "This is going to have a big impact on us."

Lay, who confirmed the arrest of Charles Everett Brownlow Jr., did not specify charges against the suspect or speculate on a motive in the killings, the website InForney.com reports.

The victims purportedly include Brownlow's mother and his aunt, WFAA-TV reports, quoting Terrance Walker, who identified himself as Brownlow's brother.

"I'm at a total loss," Walker tells the Dallas TV station. "My mom was so quiet and good."

According to public reports, Brownlow has an extensive criminal history, including previous charges of burglary, unlawful possession of a firearm and marijuana, and family violence.

The shootings began around 5 p.m. Monday with the killing of a woman with a single shot to the head in a residential area of the town of 16,000 people. Police then discovered the body of another female two blocks away at the scene of a house fire.

Police put out an alert for Brownlow after determining that his white Ford Focus was missing from the residence.

More gunfire was reported around 10 p.m. in yet another residential area by a suspect fitting Brownlow's description, Forney.com reports, although no one was injured at the scene.

A half-hour later, at the scene of one more shooting, police found a man and a woman dead and a 3-year-old child unharmed.

The final killing occurred around 10:37 p.m. after an off-duty police officer spotted the suspect and his car at a convenience store. Brownlow allegedly shot and killed one man at the scene before fleeing in his vehicle, leading a police chase past the first two crime scenes.

After eventually fleeing on foot, Brownlow was captured three hours later in a creek near railroad tracks, Forney.com reports.

Contributing: Associated Press