Police in Mississippi say a man is responsible for a massacre of 6 people in a small rural town of just 285 people.
Police were first alerted to a shooting at a shop in Arkabutla around 11am when a man allegedly shot a person in a truck from his vehicle. The victim’s brother was in the truck and fled with the assailant chasing him into the woods before surrendering, police said.
Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance said the man drove up to his ex-wife’s residence and shot her. She hit her fiance and then left.
Officers were able to track the suspect to his home based on a description of his car. There, they found two more people shot to death on a small road behind the house. One was found in a vehicle and the other in the road, Lance said.
Two more victims were found in a neighboring house. Police later said they were the suspect’s stepfather and his stepfather’s sister.
They identified the suspect as 52-year-old Richard Dale Crum, who was arrested while trying to leave his home.
Investigators found a shotgun and several handguns in the suspect’s car.
WREG-TV reported that local schools went into lockdown mode after reports of the shootings spread.
Crum was charged with one count of first-degree murder, and police say more charges are expected.
“Everybody has crime, and occasionally we have violent crime, but certainly nothing of this magnitude,” Lance said.
Investigators are still trying to figure out the motive behind the massacre. Police say Crum acted alone and the community is safe after his arrest.
“Without being able to say what caused this, that’s the scary part,” he said.
Arkabutla is located in the northern part of the state and is famous for being the birthplace of actor James Earl Jones.
Here’s a local news story about the massacre:
6 killed in shootings in Arkabutla, MS; suspect identified – 17:00 www.youtube.com
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