6 people shot dead in series of shootings in Mississippi

UPDATE DAY

Six people were killed by a gunman Friday at a store and several homes in a small town in Mississippi, in the southern United States, the local sheriff's office said as quoted by US media . 

The suspect opened fire in a store in Arkabutla, a town of just under 300 inhabitants, where he killed a man, before going to a nearby house and shooting a woman, Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance was quoted by local CBS affiliate WREG3 TV as saying.

Mr. Lance said the shooter then went to another house and shot two other people, killing them as well.

The killing streak came to a halt after a sheriff's office officer spotted a car matching the description of the suspect's car and initiated a pursuit. It ended in the driveway of a house where the suspect was apprehended.

In the vicinity of this house, officers found a deceased person in a car, and another on the road, bringing the death toll to six.

“We believe he acted alone,” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said in a tweet, asking to “pray for the victims of this tragic act of violence, and their families.”

Memphis Actions News 5 has identified the suspect as 52-year-old Richard Dale Crum, who has been charged with murder.

“His motive is not known,” Governor Reeves said.