A 24-year-old man systematically executed six family members and church leaders across three Mississippi locations in one horrific night, leaving a 7-year-old girl among the dead and a community grappling with unimaginable evil.
Story Snapshot
- Daricka M. Moore killed his father, brother, uncle, 7-year-old cousin, and two church leaders in Clay County
- The rampage spanned three locations including the family home and a church property over several hours
- Moore was arrested at a roadblock with rifle and handgun, facing potential death penalty charges
- Authorities have no clear motive for the family annihilation that shocked rural Mississippi
A Night of Unspeakable Horror
Friday evening in rural Clay County began like any other until Daricka Moore transformed into something monstrous. At his family’s mobile home on a dirt road, Moore methodically shot and killed his 67-year-old father Glenn, his 33-year-old brother Quinton, and his 55-year-old uncle Willie Ed Guines. The carnage was just beginning.
After stealing his dead brother’s truck, Moore drove to a cousin’s house where he forced entry and attempted sexual battery before placing a gun to a 7-year-old girl’s head and pulling the trigger. Sheriff Eddie Scott revealed Moore then placed the weapon against another young child’s head, though it’s unclear whether he chose not to fire or the gun misfired. The child’s mother watched in terror as pure evil invaded her home.
From Family Slaughter to Sacred Ground
Moore’s rampage continued to the Apostolic Church of the Lord Jesus, a small white-frame church where some of his own family worshiped. Breaking into the residence on church grounds, he murdered Rev. Barry Bradley and the pastor’s brother Samuel Bradley before stealing their vehicle. The same hands that once may have been raised in worship at this church were now stained with the blood of its shepherd.
Law enforcement flooded northeast Mississippi as word spread of the multi-scene massacre. Roadblocks went up near the second crime scene, and at 11:24 p.m., approximately four and a half hours after the first 911 call, Moore was captured. Officers found him armed with both a rifle and handgun, the instruments of his devastating night of violence.
Justice and the Question of Why
District Attorney Scott Colom wasted no time signaling his intentions. Moore faces murder charges that will likely be upgraded to capital murder, with Colom stating he expects to pursue the death penalty because it’s “the right thing to do.” Moore sits in Clay County Jail without bail, awaiting what could be his final judgment from a system that reserves its ultimate punishment for the most heinous crimes.
The question that haunts investigators and the community is simply: why? Sheriff Scott emphasized they have no motive for Moore’s systematic destruction of his own family and church leaders. The randomness makes it more terrifying. When family bonds and sacred spaces offer no protection from evil, it shakes the very foundations of community safety and trust.
Sources:
Inquirer – Mississippi Family Shooting
ABC News – 6 Killed Mississippi Mass Shooting
Mississippi Today – Mississippi Shootings Six Killed
