According to police, a man armed with three guns fatally shot his ex-wife and five others during a rampage in a small rural town in the US state of Mississippi.
The victims were murdered in Arkabutla, a town of less than 300 people, at a number of locations, including a store and two homes.
A 52-year-old local man has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held at the county jail.
His motive for the attack has yet to be determined.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves stated that the suspect is believed to have acted alone.
According to Sheriff Brad Lance, the rampage began when the gunman entered a petrol station convenience store around 11:00 a.m. local time (17:00 GMT) and shot a man with whom he had no apparent connection.
He then went to a nearby house and shot his ex-wife to death.
According to the New York Times, the gunman then drove to a home next to his own and fatally shot a man who may have been his stepfather as well as an unnamed woman.
He then shot two people, one in a car and one on the road near his house. According to Sheriff Lance, the final two victims appear to have been construction workers on a job at the site.
After a brief car chase, deputies spotted the suspect inside a vehicle matching witness descriptions and apprehended him near his home.
“There isn’t a lot of violent crime here. This is incredible “Sheriff Lance stated. “I never imagined we’d have to deal with something like that here.”