Six dead as gunman goes on rampage in small Mississippi town

A gunman went on a rampage in a small Mississippi town on Friday, killing his former wife and five other people in three locations before he was arrested, the county sheriff and witnesses said.

The bloodshed occurred in Arkabutla, a rural hamlet of fewer than 300 people in Tate County in northern Mississippi, about 60km south of Memphis, Tennessee.

The gunman, identified as Richard Dale Crum, 51, was charged with first-degree murder, said Tate County sheriff Brad Lance.

President Joe Biden condemned the shooting and urged Congress to enact gun controls including background checks, an assault weapons ban and requiring the safe storage of guns.

Investigators had yet to ascertain a motive, but Lance said they would start by examining the suspect's relationship with his former wife.

Authorities first received a call about a shooting at a petrol station convenience shop, and before deputies arrived they received another call about a second shooting at a nearby home, Lance said.

One man was shot dead at the shop. A woman, later determined to be Crum's ex-wife, was found dead at the home, Lance said.

Deputies tracked down the suspect in the driveway of another home and arrested him without a struggle, Lance said. That turned out to be Crum's home, and deputies found four more bodies: two behind the home and two in the roadway.

Deputies recovered a shotgun and two handguns from the suspect, Lance said.

Reuters