Tragedy struck in a rural area of Mississippi after a shooting took the lives of eight people – including a sheriff’s deputy on Saturday night.
The suspect is in custody
The suspect of the Mississippi shooing is in custody but as of a few hours ago charges have yet to be filed against him. Warren Strain, a spokesperson of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation – also noted it was too early to discuss the motive behind the shooting.
According to investigators, police responded to a phone call regarding a domestic dispute. The shooting took place at three homes.
Two were located in Brookhaven and the third was in Bogue Chitto.
William Durr
William Durr was the name of the 36-year-old Sheriff Deputy who fell victim to the shooter. Durr had been serving the Sheriff’s Office of Lincoln County for two years. The names of the other seven victims have yet to be released. Warren Strain, however, did confirm that two boys are among the victims of the shooting.
The suspect
Willie Cory Godbolt has been arrested and named as the suspect of the shooting. A reporter named Therese Apel of the Clarion-Ledger was able to capture a video of the handcuffed suspect on the side of the road. In the video, the suspect of the shooting was talking about custody issues between his wife and other members of his family.
He claimed that his neighbors “intervened” and called the cops.
Godbolt claimed his intention was suicide by cop, but he ran out of bullets. He said he wasn’t fit to live after what he did. He was transported to a hospital for a gunshot wound. Details regarding how serious the gunshot wound on the shooting victim was has not been released.
The crime scenes
The shootings are believed to have begun around 11:30 P.M. last night. It was at the first crime scene that three women and the deputy were found dead. The second crime scene contained the body of two boys. And the third crime scene contained the bodies of a woman and a man.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant took to Facebook to call the shootings a “senseless tragedy.” He said, “too often we lose our finest,” and then he thanked the law enforcements for continuing to serve the people of Mississippi.
At this time, investigators are still trying to piece together what happened. How did an argument about children result in a man who wanted death by suicide to start shooting people at three different houses? The names of the victims will be released after the next of kin have been contacted.
