Daricka M. Moore, Clay County, Mississippi man goes on shooting spree, killing six at 3 different locations, including his father, uncle, brother, two brothers and a 7-year-old girl. No known motive. Capital murder to be sought.
A 24-year-old Mississippi man is alleged to have shot and killed six people — his father, brother, uncle, 7-year-old cousin, a church pastor and the pastor’s brother — at three locations during a Friday night rampage in a rural area, Clay County authorities said.
Daricka M. Moore was arrested at a police roadblock in Cedarbluff just before midnight after dozens of local, state and federal officers flooded the northeast Mississippi area.
Moore was booked into the county jail shortly after 3 a.m. and was being held without bail Saturday at the Clay County jail in West Point on murder charges and ahead of an expected initial Monday court appearance.
Clay County, Mississippi prosecutors to seek multiple capital charges
Clay County District Attorney Scott Colom indicated seeking to pursue ‘multiple counts’ of capital charges against the man, Mississippi Today reported.
Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said during a Saturday news conference that evidence and witnesses indicate that Moore was the only shooter and no other injuries were reported.
Investigators had yet to discover what motivated Moore.
‘A situation like this, you’ve got a family member attacking their own family,’ Scott said. ‘Whatever the reason is, we’re hoping that we’ll find out.’
The violence erupted Friday just before 7 p.m. when Moore allegedly killed his father, Glenn Moore, 67; his uncle, Willie Guines, 55; and his brother, Quinten Moore, 33, in Cedarbluff, which is west of the county seat of West Point, 150 miles northwest of Jackson.
West Point, Mississippi rampage leaves community searching for answers
The sheriff said Moore then stole his brother’s truck and drove a few miles to a cousin’s house, where he forced his way in and attempted to commit sexual battery. A total of three kids, along with the mom, were at the house.
Scott said Moore than put a gun to the head of a 7-year-old girl, Mikiylia ‘Kiyla’ Guines, and fatally shot her.
‘I don’t know what kind of motive you could have to kill a 7-year-old,’ the sheriff said.
Scott said that according to witnesses, Moore then placed a gun against a younger child’s head, but she was not shot. It was not clear whether he did not pull the trigger or the gun misfired.
‘That’s how violent it was,’ Scott said.
The mother and a third child were also present, the sheriff said.
Moore then allegedly sped to another location, the Apostolic Church of The Lord Jesus on Siloam-Griffith Road. There, Scott said, he broke into a residence, killed the pastor and his brother and stole one of their vehicles.
7-year-old-Mississippi girl’s mother grieving
Scott said the last two victims, the Rev. Barry Bradley and Samuel Bradley, lived most of the time in nearby Columbus but spent weekends on church grounds. Some Moore family members attend the church, Scott said.
Moore was caught at a roadblock at 11:24 p.m. near where the second shooting occurred, Scott said, four-and-a-half hours after the first call came in. Moore had a rifle and a handgun at the time of his arrest. Scott said officers are investigating where Moore obtained the guns.
Scott said the family is experiencing overwhelming grief.
‘For this family to lose this many family members in one setting is just hard to imagine,’ Scott said.
‘This guy has not been on our radar. We had not had any calls, reports, anything prior leading up to this. We don’t know what was going through his mind,’ Scott said.
Posted Lashanna Guines the mother of slain 7-year-old girl in part: ‘I’m finally getting enough strength to even make this post I never thought I would be going through this or even making funeral arrangements for one of my children especially my baby girl …I have so many questions and so many things I don’t understand. My heart is shattered into pieces and I’m hurting but Kiyla brought so much joy to my life and so many others. ‘
The state medical examiner is performing autopsies on the victims.
