Six people were killed yesterday, Friday, in a shootout in a small town in the state of Mississippi in the southern United States, the Tate County Sheriff’s Office said.

The suspect first opened fire in the parking lot of a store in Arkabatla, a community of just under 300 people, killing a man driving a car, according to a sheriff quoted by CNN.

He then went to a neighbor’s house and killed his ex-wife, Sheriff Brad Lance said in a statement to American Network.

Sheriff’s office officers also found two more bodies in a nearby house and believe the victims were members of the suspect’s family.

The massacre was stopped when a police officer saw a vehicle matching the suspect’s description and gave chase. The search ended at the driveway where the suspect was apprehended.

Near this house, the police found one person dead in a car and another in the street, bringing the death toll to six.

The sheriff’s office said the suspect was Richard Dale Crum, a 52-year-old man who was charged with murder.

“We believe he acted alone,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted, explaining that the attacker’s motives were not disclosed. The Governor also urged residents to pray for the victims of this tragic act of violence and for their families.

“Enough,” US President Joe Biden responded to a statement released by the White House last night.

Biden pointed out that in a 48-hour period in 2023, “our country has already been hit by at least 73 incidents of militants opening fire on crowds of people.”

“Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” the American president stressed, adding that “gun violence is an epidemic and Congress must act now.”

Biden reacted by saying “enough” also on Tuesday following three killings by a gunman on a Michigan university campus.

Despite bold advances in gun control legislation, Joe Biden unsuccessfully demanded that Congress reinstate the nationwide assault rifle ban that was in place in 1994 and 2004.

However, the Democratic president is up against Republicans, who pose as defenders of the constitutional right to own guns and have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives since January.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.