Holden, September 06: A man shot his estranged wife and son to death inside a home late Sunday, then killed himself in his car when deputies tried to pull him over, authorities said.
His 2-year-old grandson also died, possibly while trying to escape out a second-story window, and his pregnant daughter-in-law was shot and critically injured, said Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief of Operations Perry Rushing.
Rushing said the shootings appeared to stem from an ongoing dispute between the 50-year-old man and his wife, who had a restraining order against him.
Police were called to the home in Holden, about 70 miles northwest of New Orleans, around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. They found the man’s 49-year-old wife and 26-year-old son dead inside and the 2-year-old dead outside. Rushing said it wasn’t clear whether the boy was shot or died from falling out the window as his mother tried to escape with him.
The boy’s mother, who is about six months pregnant, was taken to a hospital, where she was in critical condition.
Rushing said deputies spotted the man about 20 minutes later driving on a highway. When they tried to pull him over, he shot and killed himself.
“It’s very unusual to have this many victims,” Rushing said. “This is an anomaly by any stretch of the imagination.”
The identities of those killed had not been released early Sunday.
—Agencies