Six people were shot and killed Friday night at three locations in and around West Point, and a 24-year-old suspect was arrested near Cedarbluff shortly before midnight after officers set up a roadblock, Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said Saturday.
Investigators said the victims include four relatives of the suspect and two men found at a separate address, one of whom was a local pastor. A seven-year-old girl was among the dead. Authorities described the shootings as connected and carried out over a short span across the rural county near the Alabama line. Sheriff Scott said there was no ongoing threat after the arrest. Prosecutors and state crime-lab technicians joined the case as detectives worked through the weekend to map the sequence of events and prepare charging documents ahead of an expected initial court appearance Monday.
Deputies were first called after 9 p.m. Friday to a residence on David Hill Road, where three adults were found dead inside and outside a mobile home, according to preliminary accounts shared at a Saturday briefing. Additional 911 calls soon sent officers to a second home on Blake Road, where a young girl was fatally wounded and where investigators say the suspect briefly remained before fleeing in a pickup truck. A third scene was later identified at another address linked to a small church community, where two adult brothers were discovered with gunshot wounds. “Multiple innocent lives were lost due to violence in our county,” Scott said, adding that the investigation would run through the weekend.
Officials identified the suspect as Daricka M. Moore, 24, who was taken into custody without further gunfire after deputies and state troopers funneled traffic through checkpoints west of West Point. Scott said Moore acted alone. Authorities said Moore’s father, brother and uncle were among those killed at the first address. At the second location, investigators allege the suspect attempted a sexual assault before the seven-year-old girl, a cousin, was shot. The third scene involved two men identified by neighbors as Barry and Samuel Bradley; one served as a pastor at a nearby church, residents said. Autopsies were ordered for all six victims. Officials said several firearms were recovered and will be tested against shell casings collected at each scene.
West Point, a city of about 11,000 in Clay County, has seen isolated homicides but rarely an event with this many deaths across multiple addresses. Friday’s response drew in neighboring agencies and federal partners as dispatchers routed a flood of calls and officers stretched crime-scene tape across residential lanes. Deputies canvassed doorbell cameras and business systems for video that might trace the suspect’s path. The rural layout—long, tree-lined roads separated by fields and churches—slowed some evidence work overnight, investigators said, as teams used portable lights to document bullet paths and mark casings before moisture and vehicle traffic could disturb them.
Legal steps began Saturday morning as prosecutors reviewed interviews, lab submissions and body-camera footage to draft probable cause filings. Clay County District Attorney Scott Colom said his office would seek to add counts in line with the six homicides and would evaluate whether to pursue the death penalty after required reviews, including any mental health evaluations. Authorities said Moore was being held without bail at the county jail in West Point and is expected to appear before a judge Monday. Search warrants were being prepared for phones and vehicles tied to the suspect and victims. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the state crime lab will assist with ballistics comparisons and timeline reconstruction from digital records.
Neighbors described a rush of sirens and patrol cars moving between scenes as Friday turned to Saturday. Roadblocks diverted drivers, and a staging area formed near a church as detectives rotated in and out. Early Saturday, families placed flowers by a roadside ditch not far from one of the taped-off blocks. “You hear about these things somewhere else,” said Melissa Turner, who lives off Blake Road. “Seeing the lights on both sides of town at once—I’ll never forget it.” Clergy visited relatives at homes and a hospital waiting area, while school officials said counselors would be available as the community processes the losses.
As of Saturday evening, investigators said the immediate threat had passed with the arrest, and identification of all victims would be released after next-of-kin notifications. Officials said lab results, including autopsy reports and ballistics matches, are expected in the coming days. A briefing with updated charges is anticipated after Monday’s initial appearance in Clay County. The sheriff said a fuller account of motive will depend on interviews and forensic reviews now underway.
Author note: Last updated January 11, 2026.