Six people were killed in Mississippi on Friday evening in a shooting spree apparently carried out by a single gunman, who mainly targeted members of his own extended family, law enforcement officials said on Saturday.
The authorities in Clay County, Miss., arrested Daricka M. Moore, 24, after people were shot at three homes within a few miles of one another in and around Cedarbluff, a small rural community in Clay County in northeastern Mississippi. The victims included a 7-year-old girl who was a second cousin of Mr. Moore, as well as Mr. Moore’s father, a brother and an uncle.
Investigators were working to determine a possible motivation behind the burst of violence, which rattled local law enforcement officials as well as the broader community, roughly 150 miles northeast of Jackson, the state capital.
“This is one of the toughest ones we’ve had to work,” Eddie Scott, the Clay County sheriff, said at a news conference on Saturday.
Mr. Moore was being held in a local jail to await an initial court appearance. He has been charged with at least one count of first-degree murder, officials said, adding that more charges were likely. Prosecutors said they would seek the “highest punishment under Mississippi law,” noting the gravity of the violence.
“If he’s eligible for the death penalty, the district attorney’s office is going to go for the death penalty,” said Scott Colom, the district attorney for the region of northeastern Mississippi that includes Clay County. “There’s some cases, they’ve got to get the worst punishment. Six people, one night, several different scenes. You’ve heard the allegations. They’re about as bad as it gets.”
The police were called just before 7 p.m. on Friday to a house in Cedarbluff, where officers found three men with fatal gunshot wounds to the head. The men were Mr. Moore’s father, a brother and an uncle, the authorities said.
The authorities said the attacker stole a Ford pickup truck belonging to Mr. Moore’s brother and went to another home, forced his way inside and tried to sexually assault a person there.
The 7-year-old girl was found dead in that home from a gunshot wound to the head, the authorities said. Investigators learned that the attacker had put a gun to the head of another, younger child, officials said, but the gun might have misfired. The children’s mother and another young child were also inside the home at the time.
The gunman then drove the stolen truck to a third home, where he appeared to break in through a back door, the authorities said. There, officers found two more men with fatal gunshot wounds. Their relationship to the other victims was unclear on Saturday.
Mr. Moore was arrested nearby in a vehicle that had been taken from the third house, the authorities said.
Isabella Kwai contributed reporting.
Rick Rojas is the Atlanta bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the South.
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