NEED TO KNOW
- Six people, including a 7-year-old girl, were killed in a shooting spree across three Mississippi homes on Friday, Jan. 9
- The shooting suspect has been identified as 24-year-old Daricka Moore, who was related to several of the victims
- Daricka is in custody, and a motive for the killings is currently unknown
Six people, including a young girl, are dead after a gunman struck three different residences back to back in Clay County, Miss.
The shooting suspect — whom the Clay County Sheriff’s Office has identified as 24-year-old Daricka Moore — began the rampage in the evening of Friday, Jan. 9, starting with a home on David Hill Road, and later killing people at residences on Blake Road and Siloam-Griffith Road, according to NBC News and ABC affiliate WTVA.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Saturday, Jan. 10.
Daricka first allegedly shot and killed his own dad, 67-year-old Glenn Moore, as well as his brother Quintin Moore, 33, and uncle Willie Ed Guines, 55, at the home on David Hill Road, the outlets reported, citing investigators.
The three men, who were shot in the head, were pronounced deceased when authorities arrived on the scene, per NBC News and WTVA.
After the first shooting, Daricka allegedly stole a vehicle — identified by NBC News as a Ford F150 truck — that belonged to his brother Quintin, which he then drove to the next murder site on Blake Road, the outlet reported.
Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said that Daricka allegedly broke into the second home he struck and “attempted to commit a sexual battery while armed with a handgun” before shooting a 7-year-old girl in the head in front of witnesses, per NBC News.
Someone at the residence alerted authorities to the situation with a 911 call, and the girl — who was related to the suspected gunman, per Scott — was pronounced dead after deputies arrived at the scene, according to NBC News.
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Daricka then allegedly drove to a third home on Siloam-Griffith Road, where authorities received another 911 call about the situation.
At the third site, Daricka allegedly killed Barry Bradley and Samuel Bradley, who were also shot in the head, according to WTVA and NBC News. Authorities found the truck that Daricka allegedly stole from his brother at the home, along with the bodies of the Bradleys.
Unlike the first two residences, it is not clear if Daricka had any relationship with the victims, according to Scott.
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Daricka was taken into custody at the intersection of Pine Grove Road and Joe Myers Road, where he was driving a vehicle allegedly stolen from the Siloam-Griffith Road residence. He was arrested without incident, according to NBC News.
He was booked into jail early Saturday, Jan. 10, on a first-degree murder charge that will be upgraded to capital murder, plus additional murder charges, according to NBC News. The death penalty will be considered in the case, the outlet reported, citing District Attorney Scott Colom.
A motive for the attacks is unknown.
“I don’t know what kind of motive you could have to kill a 7-year-old,” Scott said, per CBS News.
The sheriff also called the events of the evening a “tragedy” in an initial post announcing the shooting.
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