UPDATE: A GoFundMe has been set up to help with the six-year-old’s medical expenses and Nykeria Jude’s funeral.
TUNICA COUNTY, Miss. — The Tunica County Sheriff’s Office is actively searching for a murder suspect.
Deputies say Markello Braxton shot and killed 30-year-old Nykeria Jude Friday night. Braxton is accused of shooting two other people, including a six-year-old.
He remains on the run and is considered armed and dangerous.
Neighbors say this neighborhood is usually quiet, so they were surprised to see crime scene tape and police lights outside of their homes last night.
Sheriff’s deputies say the deadly shooting happened Friday in the 1000 block of Soleil Drive.
When investigators made it to the scene, they found three shooting victims, including Nykeria Jude, who died from her injuries.
The Sheriff’s Office says Braxton is responsible for this triple shooting; however, he still has not been located.
A six-year-old girl and a 24-year-old man were also shot.
Both victims were airlifted to hospitals.
Neighbors tell WREG that the six-year-old victim is the suspect’s daughter, and Braxton shared the child with the woman who died.
As investigators work to find Braxton, neighbors are struggling to make sense of this tragedy that happened in their community.
“You know, this is something that no one imagined in a million years to happen, especially in a neighborhood like this. I been here since 2011. We’ve never had any type of issues like this. I mean, it’s just a tragedy,” a neighbor said.
Anyone with information about Markello Braxton’s whereabouts is urged to call the Tunica County Sheriff’s Office.