Six killed, including 7yo girl, in Mississippi rampage

A 24-year-old Mississippi man killed six people — his father, brother, uncle, seven-year-old cousin, a church pastor and the pastor’s brother — at three locations during an attack in a rural area, U.S. marshals said.

Daricka M Moore was arrested at a police roadblock in Cedarbluff just before midnight after dozens of local, state and federal officers flooded the northeast Mississippi area.

Moore was being held without bail in the Clay County jail in West Point on murder charges ahead of an initial appearance before a judge on Monday local time.

Clay County District Attorney Scott Colom, who has said he expects the death penalty to proceed, told The Associated Press that Moore will likely be appointed a public defender at that time.

If the charges are upgraded to capital murder before then, Moore would not be eligible for bail under state law.

Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said at a news conference that evidence and witnesses showed Moore was the sole aggressor and that no other injuries were reported.

He added that investigators continue to interview Moore but do not know what motivated him at this time.

“In a situation like this, you have a family member attacking his own family,” Scott said. “Whatever the reason, we hope to find out.”

The clashes took place about 200 kilometers northeast of Jackson, Mississippi’s capital, in an area of ​​fields, forests and mostly modest homes.

Investigators believe Moore first killed his father, Glenn Moore, 67, his brother, Quinton Moore, 33, and his uncle, Willie Ed Guines, 55, at the family’s mobile home on a dirt road in western Clay County.

Moore then stole his brother’s truck and drove a few miles to his cousin’s house, where he broke in and tried to sexually assault her, the sheriff said.

Moore then fatally shot the seven-year-old girl, Scott said.

“I don’t know what kind of justification you could have for killing a seven-year-old child,” he said.

According to witnesses, Moore then held a gun to a young child’s head, but the child was not hit, Scott said. It was unclear whether he pulled the trigger or whether the gun was fired.

“That’s how intense it was,” Scott said.

The mother and the third child were also there, the sheriff said.

Moore then allegedly attended the Apostolic Church of the Lord Jesus, a small white-framed church. Scott said he broke into a home there, killed the pastor and his brother, and stole one of their vehicles.

Scott said some members of the Moore family attended the church.

Four and a half hours after the first call came in, Moore was captured at a roadblock near where the second shooting occurred at 11:24 p.m. local time Friday, Scott said.

While the attacker’s rifle and gun were found, the police are investigating where he obtained them.

Moore’s surviving relatives are overwhelmed with grief, Scott said.

“It was really hard to have conversations other than prayers with everybody out there,” he said, adding, “this has really shaken our community.”