Mississippi gunman Richard Crum who killed 6, including ex-wife ‘mentally ill’: source

The Mississippi man whose frenzied shooting spree left six people dead Friday, including his ex-wife and stepfather, had a history of mental illness and “snapped” before the massacre, The Post has learned. 

A person close to the gunman, Richard Crum, 52, told The Post that the killer “has been mentally ill his whole life.”

The individual, who requested anonymity and did not specify the shooter’s condition, said Crum was on disability and had been taking medication to keep his disorder under control.

“He just finally snapped,” they said, adding, “Mental illness is a serious thing.”

Armed with shotgun and two handguns, Crum swept through the small rural town of Arkabutla on on a bloody rampage Friday morning, Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance said. 

Arkabutla, which has a population of 285, is roughly 30 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee.

After pulling into a convenience store parking lot around 11 a.m., Crum allegedly fired into the truck next to him, killing Chris Eugene Boyce, 59, of Lakeland, Florida, who had been sitting in the vehicle with his brother, Doug.

Doug, escaped unharmed by running through some nearby woods,

Boyce’s aunt, Norma Washington, said that the brothers were visiting Mississippi to help fix up property they had inherited from their late uncle. 

“I lost my brother, and now this one,” Washington said. “This has been something else.”

Crum next drove to the home of his ex-wife, Debra Crum, where he fatally shot her and attacked her current husband, George Drane. 

The couple had just returned from a doctor visit where Debra, who recently suffered a stroke, was being treated, local news station WMC reported. 

“I wrestled with him, and I lost, as you can see,” Drane, whose was head wrapped in bandages, told WMC as he fought back tears. “We had a good day at the doctor’s office. We ate some soup when we got home and we were going to go into town.”

Crum then burst into a neighboring home and allegedly killed his stepfather, George McCain, 73, and stepfather’s sister Lynda, 78.

Police eventually arrested Crum outside of his home, where they found two more bodies killed by gunfire — one in the road, and another in a car. The deceased were identified as Charles Manuel, 76, and John Rorie, 59, according to Deputy Tate County Coroner Ernie Lentz. 

Crum was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Boyce, and investigators are working to bring additional charges, authorities said. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said its agents were assisting the sheriff’s department and state investigators. 

Authorities have yet to determine a motive for the shootings. 

With Post wires.