Family convinces murder suspect to surrender to authorities

HOULKA, Miss. (WCBI) – The suspect in a fatal Chickasaw County shooting was in custody within a few hours after the crime. Family members of Eric O’Neal Moore played a big role in helping police locate and arrest him.

The first police officer on scene was told by a witness inside the mobile home that 30-year old Eric O’ Neal Moore was the alleged shooter.

“There was some type of verbal altercation, we don’t know how physical it got, but sometime during the verbal dispute, he brandished a gun, fired one shot, striking her in the head,” said Chickasaw County Sheriff James Meyers.

Investigators said the witness told them, Moore shot 29-year-old Shauntinae Hardwick as she was holding a two-year-old child.

“That’s what makes this so tragic,” said Sheriff Meyers.

The sheriff said he had dealt with Moore in the past. He knew Moore’s family, got in touch with them and they convinced Moore to turn himself in.

“Houlka is a small place, we know just about everybody who lives there, a lot of times in situations like this adrenaline gets to flowing and you don’t know what’s going through someone’s mind whenever they done something like this so it made it safer all the way around,” Meyers said.

Moore was arrested at a relative’s house, two hours after the crime.

Meyers said he also told them where they could find the murder weapon which they found. Sheriff Meyers says the children who were inside the mobile home were shaken up, but not hurt.

Hardwick’s body is being sent to the crime lab in Pearl for an autopsy.