6 Dead After Being Shot In A Mississippi Town – Suspect Taken Into Custody (Watch Video)
At a small village in rural Mississippi close to the Tennessee state line, six people were shot to death on Friday, and authorities announced they had detained a suspect.
Speaking for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Bailey Martin told The Associated Press that murders had occurred in Tate County’s Arkabutla.
According to the governor’s office, Gov. Tate Reeves was informed of the shootings and was in possession of a male suspect.
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) February 17, 2023
We think he acted alone at this point, Reeves said in a statement. His motivation is still unknown.
Shannon Brewer, a dispatcher for the Tate County sheriffs, added her confirmation that a suspect, who was not named, was in custody. Sheriff Brad Lance, who Brewer said would have to provide any additional information, could not be reached right away by phone and did not immediately reply to an email.
According to the Coldwater Elementary School Facebook page, the neighborhood high school and elementary school both went into lockdown while the culprit was being hunted. The lockdown has been lifted and “all kids and staff are safe,” according to a second statement on the page that appeared a short while later.
April Wade, a Coldwater native who now lives in Arkabutla, said both are small towns where most people are acquainted with one another; but, “if you don’t, you know somebody who knows somebody.”
Wade said she and her husband were aware of the shootings but had not learned the names of the perpetrator or victims when she spoke in the afternoon from a nearby tire shop.
Wade added, “I think it’s insane. You don’t anticipate something like that to occur so nearby.
According to an Associated Press/USA Today database, the shootings are the first mass killing to occur in the country since Jan. 23, when the final one in a string of six killings in three weeks occurred. A mass killing is described as four or more fatalities, excluding the offender.
The sheriff’s office and state investigators are receiving assistance, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Arkabutla, which is 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Memphis, Tennessee, has 285 persons as of the 2020 Census. Popular for fishing and relaxation is the nearby Arkabutla Lake.
