Six people, including one child, were killed in three connected shootings in Mississippi on Friday. The suspect in custody, identified by law enforcement as Daricka M. Moore,was initially charged with first degree murder, but authorities said this could be upgraded to capital murder.
The motive for the shootings, which happened in Cedarbluff, are still unknown.
“I don’t know what kind of motive you could have to kill a 7-year-old,” Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said at a press conference Saturday. “It shook me pretty hard too.”
The suspect had not been on their “radar,” Scott added.
Moore, Scott said, shot and killed his father, uncle and his brother at one location, then stole a vehicle that belonged to one of them. He then went to another residence, where he forced his way into the home and attempted to commit a sexual battery while armed with a handgun, Scott said.
He then allegedly shot and killed a girl, 7, at the home in front of witnesses. She was pronounced dead by the Clay County Medical Examiner. It was at this residence that police got the 911 call around 6:56 p.m.
Scott said the girl was also related to Moore.
Clay County investigators were directed to a different residence, where they discovered two dead men and the stolen truck. One of the men was a pastor at a local church, Scott said, but their connection to Moore is still unclear.
Moore was later taken into custody without incident at an intersection.
There were no injuries reported and evidence shows that Moore was the only shooter, Scott said.
District Attorney Scott Colom said this is the kind of case “where the death penalty is going to have to be really looked at,” though added there are certain legal processes to go through as they continue the investigation.
Scott said he “briefly” talked to some of Moore’s family members, and described their reaction as “overwhelmed grief.”
“Just to be there looking at these family members trying to, first of all, grieve the loss of their loved one and then finding out who it was that committed this — another family member,” Scott said. “I mean, it was overwhelming to everybody. So it was really hard to have conversation other than prayers with everybody out there.”
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