Citing County Sheriff Brad Lance, local broadcaster WLBT reported that all shooting incidents took place within the Arkabutla community with the first man being fatally shot around 11 a.m. outside a store.
Additionally, a woman was also killed inside a home on Bend Road and four more bodies, two inside a home and two outside on Arkabutla Dam Road, near the suspect’s home. US media reported that one of the victim's was the suspect's wife.
The suspect was apprehended by the police when he was spotted inside a vehicle on Arkabutla Dam Road, the report said.
"Earlier today there was a series of shootings at three different locations in Arkabutla, resulting in the deaths of six people," the Tate County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post on Friday. "Richard Dale Crum, 52, of Arkabulta was arrested this afternoon and charged with First Degree Murder in connection with this case."
Additional charges, the release added, will be filed in the coming days. Authorities are early in the investigation and can only provide a limited amount of information, according to the release.
The Friday incident comes days after mass shootings were reported at a mall in El Paso, Texas, and at Michigan State University.