On July 8, 1993, a violent spree in Mississippi left five people dead, including William Massey, 33, of Jackson. Massey was at a bar in the Jackson area when the gunman, identified as Alan Dorris, opened fire; Massey was fatally shot along with 41-year-old Ronald R. Johnson and 16-year-old Stacey D. Cooksey. The bar shooting was the first part of the rampage.

After the Jackson-area attack, the shooter drove about 90 miles to Greenville, where 75-year-old Reta Hobart and her son, 35-year-old Thomas Hobart Jr. were shot to death inside their home. The perpetrator attempted suicide and was later found wounded outside his truck in a park near Hot Springs, Arkansas, with notes in which he admitted to the killings.

Authorities arrested 32-year-old Alan Dorris and charged him with five counts of murder. A second man, 31-year-old Michael Laney of Jackson, was also charged with three counts of murder for the shootings at the bar; he had first been questioned as a material witness.