Killing rampage in Mississippi leaves eight dead

The series of house-to-house shootings took place at three homes in the US state of Mississippi overnight on Saturday. Investigators said that the rampage began after authorities received a call about a domestic dispute. At least a dozen law enforcement agencies had to attend to the crime scenes, according to the local Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

Willie Corey Godbolt, 35, was detained at one of his crime scenes after authorities caught up with him. The suspect sustained injuries during his arrest and was reportedly being treated for a gunshot wound at a hospital, authorities said. They did not specify how he was wounded.

Godbolt told the Clarion-Ledger immediately after his arrest, however, that he did not intend for police to capture him alive.

"My intentions was to have God kill me. I ran out of bullets," he said (sic).

"Suicide by cop was my intention."

The agencies involved in the case included the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Narcotics, the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and sheriff's departments from seven counties as well as the Brookhaven Police Department.

Custody issue

Two of the shootings took place in Brookhaven - about 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of Mississippi capital Jackson - while another one took place in in Bogue Chitto, another 10 miles (15 kilometers) south, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said.

Authorities did not volunteer any details on the relationship between Godbolt and the victims. However, Godbolt divulged details to the media himself, saying he had been talking with his wife and members of her family when somebody called authorities.

"I was having a conversation with her stepdaddy and her mama and her, my wife, about me taking my children home," he said.

"Somebody called the officer, people that didn't even live at the house. That's what they do. They intervene."

Remaining vicitms to be named

The victims reportedly included two underage boys as well as a police deputy. The slain officer was identified as William Durr, 36. The identities of the other victims were not released at this stage of the investigation.

Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain said that charges against Godbolt had yet to be filed.

"I ain't fit to live, not after what I done," a handcuffed Godbolt told news reporters arriving at the scene of his arrest.

The state of Mississippi usually seeks capital punishment when an officer is killed in the line of duty.