A 24-year old male has been charged with first degree murder in relation to the killing of six people in Clay County Friday night. Among those Daricka Moore is accused of killing are four relatives: his father, his brother, an uncle and a seven-year old child.
Local authorities are calling the murders one of the worst crimes they’ve seen.
“I know how I felt and just to be there and looking at these family members trying to, first of all, grieving the loss of their loved one, and then finding out who it was that committed this, another family member, I mean it was overwhelming,” said Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott.
West Point has a population of nearly 10,000 people and is located near the Alabama border. This is the second mass shooting to occur in Clay County within the past two years, and one of the worst mass shootings in Mississippi’s history.
Authorities believe Moore - initially killed three relatives and then stole the car of his deceased brother. He then allegedly broke into the home of a mother and three children before killing the youngest victim. Moore is also accused of attempting to sexually assault an unknown victim at the same residence.
Authorities say Moore then drove to the home of two other victims, where he allegedly broke in and murdered two brothers. It is not clear what relationship they may have had to the suspect. Moore is alleged to have stolen another vehicle from the residence of these victims.
Moore was booked early Saturday morning on first degree murder charges, which officials expect to elevate to multiple capital murder charges. No motive has been released at this time. Sheriff Scott said there were no reports involving the suspect leading up to this incident.
“This is really, really shaking our community,” Sheriff Scott said. “For me, almost 30 years in this is one of the toughest ones we had to work.”
In a Facebook post, Sheriff Scott asked the community to “lift our victims and their families in your prayers.”
District Attorney Scott Colom says he will consider the death penalty pending an investigation using experts and evaluations of the suspect.
“I have to tell you, when the sheriff briefed me about what had happened thus far last night, it really shook me because this is the worst one I've seen in 10 years,” Colom said. “It's the worst.”