6 People, Including 7-Year-Old Girl, Dead of Gunshot Wounds to the Head Following Shooting Spree Spanning 3 Different Homes

Six people — including a 7-year-old girl — were killed after a gunman targeted three separate homes in rapid succession in Clay County, Mississippi.

Authorities say the suspect, identified by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office as 24-year-old Daricka Moore, began the attacks Friday evening, Jan. 9. The shootings started at a residence on David Hill Road, then continued at homes on Blake Road and Siloam-Griffith Road, according to NBC News and ABC affiliate WTVA.

Investigators say Moore first fatally shot three relatives at the David Hill Road home: his father, 67-year-old Glenn Moore; his brother, 33-year-old Quintin Moore; and his uncle, 55-year-old Willie Ed Guines. The men were shot in the head and were pronounced dead when deputies arrived, according to NBC News and WTVA.

After the first killings, Moore allegedly stole his brother’s vehicle — identified by NBC News as a Ford F150 truck — and drove to the next home on Blake Road, according to the outlet.

Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said Moore allegedly forced his way into the second residence and “attempted to commit a sexual battery while armed with a handgun” before shooting a 7-year-old girl in the head in front of witnesses, per NBC News. Authorities were alerted by a 911 call, and the child — who Scott said was related to the suspect — was pronounced dead after deputies arrived, according to NBC News.

Moore then allegedly drove to a third home on Siloam-Griffith Road, where authorities received another 911 call.

At that location, investigators say he killed two people — Barry Bradley and Samuel Bradley — who were also shot in the head, according to WTVA and NBC News. Deputies found the stolen truck at the scene, along with the two bodies. Sheriff Scott said it was not immediately clear whether the suspect had any relationship to the victims.

Moore was taken into custody at the intersection of Pine Grove Road and Joe Myers Road, where authorities say he was driving another vehicle that had been stolen from the Siloam-Griffith Road residence. He was arrested without incident, according to NBC News.

He was booked into jail early Saturday, Jan. 10, on a first-degree murder charge that authorities said would be upgraded to capital murder, along with additional murder charges, according to NBC News. The outlet reported that District Attorney Scott Colom said the death penalty would be considered.

A motive has not been released.

“I don’t know what kind of motive you could have to kill a 7-year-old,” Scott said, per CBS News. He also described the night’s events as a “tragedy” in an initial post announcing the shootings.