Eight people are dead and one person has been injured after a series of shootings in south-central Missouri overnight.

Police made the discoveries at five different homes in or near the city of Tyrone.

Authorities believe that they found the body of the shooter in a parked car near one of the crime scenes.

Residents reported that police went door-to-door today warning them to secure their homes.

Around 22:15 local time on Thursday, officers from the Texas County Sheriff's Department responded to an emergency call from a girl claiming she heard gunshots in a home.

The girl fled to a neighbour's house to alert the authorities.

Upon inspection, officers found two people dead in the house.

As they continued searching, they found six additional victims who were killed and one that was injured spread across four other residences.

The body of the suspect, who has only been identified as a 36-year-old man from Tyrone, was discovered in car in nearby Shannon County. He had appeared to die of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Authorities took the injured victim to a nearby hospital.