Eight people were killed in a series of overnight shootings in Mississippi, United States, police said on Sunday. Police said the suspect was in custody. Among those killed was a sheriff’s deputy, who was answering a distress call when he came in the line of fire.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said the shootings took place in three separate homes starting late the previous night in the rural Lincoln County area. No charges have been filed against the suspect yet and a possible motive has not been determined, the police said. Local news agencies identified the suspect as Cory Godbolt and posted a video of him handcuffed and pushed to the ground by police.

Mississipi Governor Phil Bryant thanked the local law enforcement agencies. “Every day, the men and women who wear the badge make some measure of sacrifice to protect and serve their communities,” he said in a statement posted on Facebook. “Too often, we lose one of our finest. May the peace of the Almighty wash over those hurting after this senseless tragedy.”