Suspect in custody after 6 killed in spree of shootings in Mississippi

Authorities say a person was in custody Saturday after six people were killed in a series of related shootings in eastern Mississippi.

Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said on Facebook that “multiple innocent lives” were lost “due to violence” in the town of West Point, near the Alabama border. Authorities identified the suspect as 24-year-old Daricka M. Moore.

The suspect was in custody and there was no threat to the community, the sheriff wrote on Facebook.

At an afternoon news conference on Saturday, Scott said the victims — family members related to the suspect — were shot at three separate locations late Friday. One of the victims was a child.

“I don’t know what kind of motive you could have to kill a 7-year-old,” the sheriff said.

When contacted by CBS News on Saturday morning, the sheriff’s office did not provide any further details.

Moore faces a first-degree murder charge that could be upgraded to capital murder, Scott said. He may also face additional murder charges.

The shootings took place in the rural community of Cedarbluff, which is west of the county seat of West Point.