North Carolina officials say a delay in reporting a warrant allowed Patrick Burris to be released from jail two weeks before he allegedly killed five people.

The Department of Corrections says Burris' probation officer was snowed under by other work and did not call the Lincoln County jail to inform them there was a detention warrant issued for Burris until after Burris had been released.

Burris, who was being held for driving on a suspended license, allegedly went on to murder five people in South Carolina before being shot dead by police on July 6

The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said Tuesday the probation officer received notification of the warrant at 4 p.m. EDT on June 12, but was tied up with other work and did not contact the jail. She instead checked the jail Web site that evening and saw Burris was no longer in custody.

The newspaper, however, said Burris apparently was still in the jail for nearly another hour while he posted bond and would have been locked back up had jailers known about the warrant.

The Observer said the department had earlier said the probation officer had contacted the jail and Monday admitted it had made a mistake.