In a small rural town in the US state of Mississippi, a man with three guns fatally murdered his ex-wife and five other people during a shooting rampage, according to authorities.
In the town of Arkabutla, which has fewer than 300 residents, the victims were murdered at a number of locations, including a store and two homes.
A local resident, 52, has been detained at the county jail after being charged with first-degree murder by police.
His attack’s motivation has not yet been determined.
Tate Reeves, the governor of Mississippi, stated that the suspect is thought to have operated alone.
According to Sheriff Brad Lance, the shooting spree started when the shooter went into a gas station convenience shop at around 11:00 local time (17:00 GMT) and shot a man with whom he had no apparent relationship.
Next, according to CNN, he went to a nearby house and fatally shot his ex-wife while striking but not shooting her fiancé.
The gunman allegedly then drove to a home next to his own and fatally shot a man who may have been his stepfather as well as an unidentified lady, according to investigators, the New York Times.
Then, not far from his home, he shot two people—one on the road and the other inside a car. According to Sheriff Lance, the last two victims appear to have been construction workers performing work at the scene.
After a brief car chase, deputies located the suspect inside a vehicle that matched witness descriptions and were able to detain him close to his residence.
“There isn’t much violent crime around here. This is horrifying “Sheriff Lance stated. I never imagined that we would encounter such a situation here.
He claimed that the guy was in possession of two handguns and a shotgun.
The incident, which took place 45 miles (72 km) south of Memphis in neighboring Tennessee, put a primary and secondary school in Coldwater on lockdown.
Local resident Ethan Cash, 19, told WREG-TV that he had spotted the man brandishing a gun.
Mr. Cash claimed that in addition to checking the victim’s pulse before he passed away inside his car, he also pulled his own gun on a nearby wounded guy, who turned out to be the victim’s brother.
What the statistics on gun violence in the US tell us
According to the non-profit research database maintained by the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), Friday’s tragedy was the 73rd mass shooting since the year’s start.
A mass shooting is one in which four or more persons are hurt or killed, according to GVA.
