A 24-year-old man Daricka M Moore has been identified as the mass shooting suspect charged in connection with the death of six people, including a 7-year-old child, in northeast Mississippi, United States. He has since been arrested and is facing a first-degree murder charge that could be upgraded to capital murder, Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said at a press conference, as per the Associated Press.
As per the sheriff’s revelations at the public event, four out of six people fatally shot in Mississippi were related to the suspect. Of them, the youngest victim was the accused’s cousin.
Mississippi mass shooting suspect’s criminal record
As per online court records in Clay County cited by the AP, Moore has no previous criminal charges. Moreover, even the sheriff pointed out at the press conference that Moore had not gotten entangled with the authorities before the fatal incident. “This guy (the suspect) wasn’t our radar,” Scott said. “This is family members that he went after.”
Darick M Moore suspected shooter: What happened in Mississippi?
Those killed in the shooting spree in northeast Mississippi on Friday night (US time) included Moore’s own father, brother, uncle, 7-year-old cousin, a church pastor and the pastor’s brother, as per the AP.
Moore is said to have gone out on a violent rampage at three different locations on Friday. Authorities cited by US reports have since revealed that Daricka M Moore was ultimately arrested at a police roadblock in Cedarbluff just before midnight.
So far, investigators suggest that Moore first killed his father, 67-year-old Glenn Moore, his brother, 33-year-old Quinton Moore and his uncle, 55-year-old Willie Ed Guines, at the family’s mobile home in western Clay County.
Sheriff Scott further claimed that Moore is then believed to have stolen his brother’s truck and driven to his cousin’s house. Upon reaching there, he forced his way in and attempted to commit sexual battery, as per AP. Authorities added that he eventually aimed his gun at a 7-year-old girl and killed her.
The sheriff also cited witnesses saying that Moore even targeted another younger child. However, she was not shot. And so, it remains unclear whether Moore did not shoot or the gun misfired. According to authorities, a mother and a third child were present at the premises when all this unfolded.
After supposedly shooting the girl, Moore is believed to have driven to the Apostolic Church of The Lord Jesus, where he broke in and killed the pastor and his brother, Rev. Barry Bradley and Samuel Bradley. As per the sheriff’s account, Moore then stole one of their vehicles from the residence. Some members of Moore’s family attended the church, Scott noted during the press conference.
As of Saturday, Darick Moore was being held without bail at the Clay County jail in West Point. He is expected to make his initial court appearance on Monday.
It has yet to be determined what motivated Moore to allegedly kill his family members and two other adults.