Gunman kills 6 Including Ex-Wife In Northern Mississippi- Says Sheriff (Watch Video)
Miss. ARKABUTLA – Investigators are trying to figure out why a lone shooter went on a startling killing spree, killing six people, including his ex-wife and stepfather, in multiple locations on Friday in a small rural village in northern Mississippi, the sheriff said.
According to Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance, 52-year-old Richard Dale Crum opened fire with a shotgun and two handguns at around 11 a.m., killing a guy who was sitting in the driver’s seat of a pickup truck that was parked outside a convenience store in Arkabutla, close to the Tennessee state border.
As a second 911 call informed authorities of a second shooting a few miles away, deputies were securing the crime site. When they arrived at a house, they discovered a woman who had been shot dead and her current husband injured. The sheriff identified the victim as Crum’s ex-wife.
According to Lance, Crum was apprehended by deputies outside his own home and taken into custody. They discovered two handymen shot to death behind the house—one in the road and the other in an SUV. They found Crum’s stepfather and stepfather’s sister’s remains inside a nearby house.
Everyone commits crimes, and occasionally there are violent crimes here as well, but nothing on this scale, according to Lance. The troubling issue, he continued, is that we don’t know what caused this.
Crum, 52, was detained without bail after being charged with capital murder on a single count; according to Lance, detectives are working to file more charges. It wasn’t immediately clear if Crum had a lawyer who could represent him.
The 59-year-old man who was shot outside the business, Chris Eugene Boyce, was the victim of that initial murder accusation. The sheriff claims that Boyce’s brother, who was in the truck with him at the time, escaped. According to Lance, Crum pursued the brother through the woods before the latter managed to flee uninjured.
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) February 17, 2023
The other victims were Debra Crum, 60; Charles Manuel, 76; John Rorie, 59; George McCain, 78; and Lynda McCain, 78, according to Deputy Tate County Coroner Ernie Lentz. Boyce was from Lakeland, Florida, according to Lentz as well.
A gunshot was heard coming from inside Ethan Cash’s home, according to WREG-TV, who lives close to the store.
I was barely waking up when I looked back and saw a man walking back here carrying a shotgun, the man claimed.
Cash stated that when he arrived at the scene, he discovered one victim of gunfire. He felt for a pulse but couldn’t find one.
Norma Washington identified Boyce as her nephew to The Associated Press in the Sheriff’s Office lobby. She claimed that he was in town cleaning up a property they had inherited from their late uncle together with his brother Doug, who lives in Alaska.
Washington said, “I lost my brother, and now this one.” “This has been another thing.”
It was unknown if Crum was acquainted with the brothers.
The deaths shocked the 285-person population of Arkabutla, which is located around 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Jones, a well-known actor, was born and raised there, and the surrounding Arkabutla Lake is a well-liked fishing and vacation spot.
An elementary school and a high school in nearby Coldwater both went on lockdown while the suspect was being sought, according to the Coldwater Elementary School Facebook page. A short time later, a second post on the page said the lockdown had been lifted and “all students and staff are safe.”
April Wade, who lives in Arkabutla and grew up in Coldwater, said both are small communities where most people know each other, “but if you don’t, you know somebody who knows somebody.”
Speaking from a local tire store in the afternoon, Wade said she and her husband were aware of the shootings but had not yet heard the names of the suspect or victims.
“I think it’s crazy,” Wade said. “You do not expect something like that to happen so close to home.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said its agents were providing assistance to the sheriff’s department and state investigators. Lance said one of their top priorities was to determine a motive.
The sheriff, who has lived in the area his entire life and served in law enforcement for 25 years, said he could recall no prior problems with Crum.
The shootings are the first mass killing in the U.S. since Jan. 23, which saw the last of six in a three-week period, according to an Associated Press/USA Today database. It defines a mass killing as four or more people dead, not including the perpetrator.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were mourning the six victims and praying for the survivors. He urged Congress to act now on gun law reforms to address what he called “an epidemic” of gun violence.
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Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi. AP reporters Jeff Amy in Atlanta and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.
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A previous version of this story was corrected to reflect that the sheriff’s last name is Lance.
