Officials in Mississippi said a man has been detained after a shooting spree that left eight people dead, among them two boys and a police officer.
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain said the shootings happened at three separate homes in rural Lincoln County. Police identified the suspect as Willie Corey Godbolt. The shootings were allegedly related to a dispute involving his wife and his in-laws.
“I ain’t fit to live, not after what I done,” a handcuffed Mr Godbolt, 35, told the Clarion-Ledger newspaper.
The Associated Press said Mr Godbolt was being treated for a gunshot wound at a local hospital, according to officials. They did not say how he was wounded.
Mr Strain said charges had yet to be filed and it was too soon to say what the motive was. Officials said they had no details on the relationship between Mr Godbolt and the victims.
However, Mr Godbolt himself shed some light in a video interview with the newspaper as he sat with his hands cuffed behind his back on the side of a road.
“I was having a conversation with her step-daddy 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.”
He added: “They cost him his life,” he said, apparently referring to the dead police officer. “I’m sorry.”
The slain officer was identified as William Durr, 36. The identities of the other victims were not immediately released.
Mr Godbolt said he did not intend for the police to capture him alive.
“My intentions was to have God kill me. I ran out of bullets,” he said. “Suicide by cop was my intention.”
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant issued a statement asking people to pray for the victims. He also noted the “sacrifice” made by law enforcement officers to protect and serve their communities.
“Every day, the men and women who wear the badge make some measure of sacrifice to protect and serve their communities,” he said. “Too often, we lose one of our finest. I thank the law enforcement agencies involved for their hard work.”
