Six dead, including child, in Mississippi shootings, suspect charged
A man is charged with murder after six people from the same family were killed in a series of shootings.
19 hours agoSat 10 Jan 2026 at 8:11pm
Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott spoke about the shootings at a press conference. (WTVA NEWS via X.)
In short:
A 24-year-old man has been charged after six people were shot and killed in Mississippi.
The suspect faces a first-degree murder charge that could be upgraded to capital murder.
Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott says one of the six people shot was a seven-year-old girl.
Warning: This story contains references to sexual assault.
A 24-year-old man has been charged with murder after six people were killed in a series of shootings in north-east Mississippi.
Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said the suspect was accused of shooting his father, brother and uncle fatally in the head on Friday evening, before stealing a truck and driving to a second site.
There, he allegedly attempted to sexually assault a seven-year-old girl, who was also related to him, before fatally shooting her in the head.
A 911 call then directed law enforcement to a third site, where two more men, including a local pastor, were found fatally shot in the head.
The suspect was arrested nearby just before midnight.
"I don’t know what kind of motive you could have to kill a seven-year-old," Sheriff Scott said at a press conference on Saturday.
"This has really shaken our community.
"A situation like this, you've got a family member attacking their own family … whatever the reason is, we're hoping that we'll find out."
Suspect had no criminal history, records show
Sheriff's Deputy Steven Woodruff identified Daricka M Moore, 24, as the man arrested.
He faces a first-degree murder charge that could be upgraded to capital murder, Sheriff Scott said.
He may also face additional murder charges.
Online court records in Clay County show he has no previous criminal charges.
Scott Colom, the district attorney for Mississippi's Sixteenth Circuit Court, said the incident was one of the worst he had come across.
"This is horrific. It's about as bad as it gets,"
he said.
The Mississippi Crime Lab, a state office, will conduct autopsies, Sheriff Scott said.
The shootings took place in the rural community of Cedarbluff, which is west of the county seat of West Point.
AP/Reuters