A lone gunman killed six people together with his ex-wife and stepfather Friday at a number of areas in a tiny rural group in northern Mississippi, the sheriff mentioned, leaving investigators trying to find clues to what motivated the rampage.Armed with a shotgun and two handguns, 52-year-old Richard Dale Crum opened hearth at about 11 a.m. and killed a person in the driving force’s seat of a pickup truck parked outdoors a comfort retailer in Arkabutla, close to the Tennessee state line, Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance mentioned.Deputies had been working the crime scene when a second 911 name alerted authorities to a different taking pictures a number of miles away. After arriving at a house, they discovered a girl, whom the sheriff recognized as Crum’s ex-wife, shot lifeless and her present husband wounded.Lance mentioned deputies caught up with Crum outdoors his own residence and arrested him. Behind the residence they discovered two handymen slain by gunfire — one in the highway, one other in an SUV. Inside a neighboring residence, they found the our bodies of Crum’s stepfather and his stepfather’s sister.“Everybody has crime, and from time to time we have violent crime, but certainly nothing of this magnitude,” Lance mentioned in an interview. He added: “Without being able to say what triggered this, that’s the scary part.”Crum, 52, was jailed with out bond on a single cost of capital homicide, and Lance mentioned investigators had been working to deliver further expenses. It was not instantly identified if Crum had an legal professional who might converse on his behalf.That preliminary homicide cost was for the killing of Chris Eugene Boyce, 59, the person who was shot outdoors the shop. Boyce’s brother was in the truck with him on the time and fled, in accordance with the sheriff. Lance added that Crum chased the brother by way of a wooded space earlier than he escaped unhurt.Deputy Tate County Coroner Ernie Lentz recognized the others killed as Debra Crum, 60; Charles Manuel, 76; John Rorie, 59; George McCain, 73; and Lynda McCain, 78. Lentz additionally mentioned Boyce was from Lakeland, Florida.Ethan Cash, who lives close to the shop, instructed WREG-TV he heard a gunshot from inside his home.“I had just woken up and I look back here, and I see dude walking back here with a shotgun,” he mentioned.Cash added that he went to the scene and located one one that had been shot. He checked for a pulse, however discovered none.In the foyer of the Sheriff’s Office, Norma Washington instructed The Associated Press that Boyce was her nephew. She mentioned he and the brother, Doug, who lives in Alaska, had been in city cleansing up a property they inherited from their deceased uncle.“I lost my brother, and now this one,” Washington mentioned. “This has been something else.”It was unclear whether or not Crum knew both of the brothers.The killings surprised residents of Arkabutla, residence to 285 people and positioned about 30 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. It’s the hometown of famed actor James Earl Jones, and close by Arkabutla Lake is a well-liked fishing and leisure vacation spot.An elementary college and a highschool in close by Coldwater each went on lockdown whereas the suspect was being sought, in accordance with the Coldwater Elementary School Facebook web page. A short while later, a second publish on the web page mentioned the lockdown had been lifted and “all students and staff are safe.”April Wade, who lives in Arkabutla and grew up in Coldwater, mentioned each are small communities the place most people know one another, “but if you don’t, you know somebody who knows somebody.”Speaking from a neighborhood tire retailer in the afternoon, Wade mentioned she and her husband had been conscious of the shootings however had not but heard the names of the suspect or victims.“I think it’s crazy,” Wade mentioned. “You do not expect something like that to happen so close to home.”The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives mentioned its brokers had been offering help to the sheriff’s division and state investigators. Lance mentioned one of their high priorities was to find out a motive.The sheriff, who has lived in the realm his complete life and served in regulation enforcement for 25 years, mentioned he might recall no prior issues with Crum.The U.S. has seen a lethal begin to 2023, together with six mass killings in a three-week interval in January, in accordance with an Associated Press/USA Today database. It defines a mass killing as 4 or extra people lifeless, not together with the perpetrator.There have additionally been a quantity of mass shootings in which fewer people had been slain, similar to Monday’s taking pictures at Michigan State University in which three people had been killed and 5 had been wounded.In an announcement, President Joe Biden mentioned he and first girl Jill Biden had been mourning the six victims and praying for the survivors. He urged Congress to behave now on gun regulation reforms to handle what he known as “an epidemic” of gun violence.___Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi. AP reporters Jeff Amy in Atlanta and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.
A lone gunman killed six people together with his ex-wife and stepfather Friday at a number of areas in a tiny rural group in northern Mississippi, the sheriff mentioned, leaving investigators trying to find clues to what motivated the rampage.
Armed with a shotgun and two handguns, 52-year-old Richard Dale Crum opened hearth at about 11 a.m. and killed a person in the driving force’s seat of a pickup truck parked outdoors a comfort retailer in Arkabutla, close to the Tennessee state line, Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance mentioned.
Deputies had been working the crime scene when a second 911 name alerted authorities to a different taking pictures a number of miles away. After arriving at a house, they discovered a girl, whom the sheriff recognized as Crum’s ex-wife, shot lifeless and her present husband wounded.
Lance mentioned deputies caught up with Crum outdoors his own residence and arrested him. Behind the residence they discovered two handymen slain by gunfire — one in the highway, one other in an SUV. Inside a neighboring residence, they found the our bodies of Crum’s stepfather and his stepfather’s sister.
“Everybody has crime, and from time to time we have violent crime, but certainly nothing of this magnitude,” Lance mentioned in an interview. He added: “Without being able to say what triggered this, that’s the scary part.”
Crum, 52, was jailed with out bond on a single cost of capital homicide, and Lance mentioned investigators had been working to deliver further expenses. It was not instantly identified if Crum had an legal professional who might converse on his behalf.
That preliminary homicide cost was for the killing of Chris Eugene Boyce, 59, the person who was shot outdoors the shop. Boyce’s brother was in the truck with him on the time and fled, in accordance with the sheriff. Lance added that Crum chased the brother by way of a wooded space earlier than he escaped unhurt.
Deputy Tate County Coroner Ernie Lentz recognized the others killed as Debra Crum, 60; Charles Manuel, 76; John Rorie, 59; George McCain, 73; and Lynda McCain, 78. Lentz additionally mentioned Boyce was from Lakeland, Florida.
Ethan Cash, who lives close to the shop, instructed WREG-TV he heard a gunshot from inside his home.
“I had just woken up and I look back here, and I see dude walking back here with a shotgun,” he mentioned.
Cash added that he went to the scene and located one one that had been shot. He checked for a pulse, however discovered none.
In the foyer of the Sheriff’s Office, Norma Washington instructed The Associated Press that Boyce was her nephew. She mentioned he and the brother, Doug, who lives in Alaska, had been in city cleansing up a property they inherited from their deceased uncle.
“I lost my brother, and now this one,” Washington mentioned. “This has been something else.”
It was unclear whether or not Crum knew both of the brothers.
The killings surprised residents of Arkabutla, residence to 285 people and positioned about 30 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. It’s the hometown of famed actor James Earl Jones, and close by Arkabutla Lake is a well-liked fishing and leisure vacation spot.
An elementary college and a highschool in close by Coldwater each went on lockdown whereas the suspect was being sought, in accordance with the Coldwater Elementary School Facebook web page. A short while later, a second publish on the web page mentioned the lockdown had been lifted and “all students and staff are safe.”
April Wade, who lives in Arkabutla and grew up in Coldwater, mentioned each are small communities the place most people know one another, “but if you don’t, you know somebody who knows somebody.”
Speaking from a neighborhood tire retailer in the afternoon, Wade mentioned she and her husband had been conscious of the shootings however had not but heard the names of the suspect or victims.
“I think it’s crazy,” Wade mentioned. “You do not expect something like that to happen so close to home.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives mentioned its brokers had been offering help to the sheriff’s division and state investigators. Lance mentioned one of their high priorities was to find out a motive.
The sheriff, who has lived in the realm his complete life and served in regulation enforcement for 25 years, mentioned he might recall no prior issues with Crum.
The U.S. has seen a lethal begin to 2023, together with six mass killings in a three-week interval in January, in accordance with an Associated Press/USA Today database. It defines a mass killing as 4 or extra people lifeless, not together with the perpetrator.
There have additionally been a quantity of mass shootings in which fewer people had been slain, similar to Monday’s taking pictures at Michigan State University in which three people had been killed and 5 had been wounded.
In an announcement, President Joe Biden mentioned he and first girl Jill Biden had been mourning the six victims and praying for the survivors. He urged Congress to behave now on gun regulation reforms to handle what he known as “an epidemic” of gun violence.
___
Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi. AP reporters Jeff Amy in Atlanta and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.