Six people are shot dead in a series of shootings in rural Mississippi

Six people have been shot dead in rural Mississippi after a gunman went on a shooting spree.

Authorities in Tate County have arrested a man in connection with the incidents after spotting him inside a vehicle on Arkabutla Dam Road where the shootings took place.

Police say that the suspect shot a man outside the Express Mart on Arkabutla Road at 12.30pm, with a worker at the shop telling DailyMail.com that she and colleagues ‘ran and hid.’

She said: ‘No one in the store was hurt, the man was shot outside. He came in here with a gun and we all ran and hid. I don’t know who he was.’

The gunman then reportedly traveled 3.8miles to Bend Road where he shot and killed a woman inside a property. 

Police say that the suspect shot a man outside the Express Mart on Arkabutla Road at 12.30pm, with a worker at the shop telling DailyMail.com that she and colleagues ‘ran and hid’

Sheriff Brad Lance said that the shooter lived on Arkabutla Dam Road, but authorities have not yet identified him

Her husband was also injured during the incident, but it is unclear if he was shot by the gunman. 

The suspect then traveled to a home on Arkabutla Dam Road and shot two people dead inside the property, before his vehicle was spotted by authorities. 

Tate County Sheriff Deputies tried to apprehend the shooter, but he failed to stop causing a car chase. 

The shooter pulled into the driveway of a home, and was arrested by cops before they discovered another person dead in a car and a sixth lying in the roadway.

A spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office told DailyMail.com that the incident is ‘no longer a threat’ to the community.

They added: ‘We have detained a suspect in our jail. We cannot confirm anything else as it is an active investigation.’

Authorities saidthey are currently unaware of the motive behind the shooting or if those killed were known to each other.

Sheriff Brad Lance told WJTV that the shooter lived on Arkabutla Dam Road, but authorities have not yet identified him. 

Coldwater Elementary and High School were initially placed on lockdown because of the active shooter, but has since reopened. 

The town of Arkabutla has a population of less than 300, and is located about 45 miles south of Memphis.

The gunman then reportedly traveled 3.8miles to Bend Road where he shot and killed a woman inside a property

Six people have been shot dead in rural Mississippi after a gunman went on a shooting spree