Police shoot man after five bodies discovered in two remote Tennessee homes

Michael Cummins arrested following huge manhunt

Michael Cummins (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Police officers have shot and arrested a man suspected of killing five people in two homes in rural Tennessee.

Michael Cummins, 25, became the subject of a mass manhunt after four bodies were found at a property near the town of Westmoreland and a fifth discovered at a second home nearby.

A sixth person, who is believed to have called police, was also found suffering unspecified injuries at the first scene.

Cummins himself was shot by at least one SWAT officer after he emerged from a wood holding several weapons, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.

He was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Police spokesman Josh DeVine told a press conference: “The community should hopefully be able to rest a little bit easier tonight, knowing that [Cummins] is in custody.”

Authorities have not released any details about the victims and have not said exactly how they were killed.

It is not clear if Cummins knew them.