RUTHERFORD, Tenn. (AP) -- Severe thunderstorms packing tornadoes and softball-sized hail left a path of destruction across six Midwestern states, killing at least 23 people.

Nineteen deaths were reported in western Tennessee, including a family of four. In Missouri, strong winds were blamed for at least three deaths. A clothing store collapsed in southern Illinois, killing one man and injuring several others.

Robin Brownlee, 43, of Collinsville, was inside the K&G Clothing Store in Fairview Heights, Ill., just east of St. Louis, when the roof collapsed Sunday.

"The whole building started to shake," Brownlee told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Everyone was running and screaming. I couldn't believe it."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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