Louisiana shootings: Five killed and suspect at large

The 21-year-old suspect, Dakota TheriotImage copyright
Livingston Parish Sheriff

Image caption

Police are searching for the suspect, identified as Dakota Theriot

At least five people have been killed in separate shootings in two parishes in the US state of Louisiana, officials say.

Police are searching for the suspect, 21-year-old Dakota Theriot, who fled in a gray and silver Dodge pick-up truck.

He is said to be armed and believed to be heading to the neighbouring state of Mississippi.

Authorities believe the two shootings are connected. Two of the victims were the suspect’s parents.

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On Saturday morning local time, police were called to a trailer park in the city of Gonzales, 25 miles (40km) south of Baton Rouge, for a “domestic incident”, Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said.

When they arrived, they found two people who had been shot but were still alive. They have been identified as Elizabeth and Keith Theriot, both 51 years old.

They told the officers that their son was the shooter. They had recently told him to leave their house.

The couple were taken to a hospital in Baton Rouge where they later died.

Reports suggest the gunman first killed three other people in neighbouring Livingston Parish.

The victims were not relatives of the suspect but appeared to know him. They have been identified as Billy Ernest, 43; Summer Ernest, 20; and Tanner Ernest, 17.

The suspect is wanted for first-degree murder, illegal use of weapons and home invasion.

source: bbc.com