A suspect wanted in a Louisiana shooting spree that stretched across several parishes and included the death of a state trooper was apprehended Saturday night after a daylong manhunt in area woods, according to reports.
At least one other person – who was believed to be the suspect’s half-sister -- was killed during the spree, FOX 8 of New Orleans reported.
At least three other people were wounded, one of them critically, reports said.
The slain trooper was identified as Adam Gaubert, a 19-year veteran, according to The Advocate newspaper of Baton Rouge. Gaubert was found inside his patrol vehicle in Prairieville, about 18 miles southeast of Baton Rouge, hours after being "ambushed," Col. Lamar Davis, superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, told reporters Saturday night.
GEORGIA POLICE OFFICER SHOT DEAD FIRST DAY WITH FORCE, ARMED SUSPECT ON THE LOOSE
"Prelimary information indicates that Trooper Gaubert was shot and killed in the area in which an early-morning homicide occurred," Davis said. " … Trooper Gaubert embodied everything that we stand for – honor, duty, selfless service and courage."
Gaubert was believed shot around 5 a.m. Saturday along state Highway 42 in Ascension Parish, FOX 44 in Baton Rouge reported.
"We would like to share our deepest condolences with Trooper Adam Gaubert’s family and with the Louisiana State Police," the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook. "Today we lost not only a fellow law enforcement officer, but a father, a husband, and a friend."
Other law enforcement officers found the trooper’s body as they pursued the suspect, who was identified as Matthew Mire, 31.
Louisiana state troopers exchanged gunfire with Mire after the trooper was shot but Mire managed to get away on foot, FOX 44 reported.
State police issued a public safety alert for East Baton Rouge and Ascension parishes, warning that Mire was considered armed and dangerous, the report said.
Prior to the shooting of Gaubert, around midnight Saturday, state police were called to a mobile home park in Livingston, where they found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds. Both were expected to recover, authorities told FOX 8.
Matthew Mire. (Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office)
Mire was believed to have stolen a blue pickup truck in Livingston in order to flee the scene, authorities added.
Around 3 a.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a shooting in Prairieville, where they found another man and woman had been shot. The woman later died from her wounds while the man was in critical condition, FOX 8 reported.
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The slain woman, 37, identified as Pamela Adair, was believed to be Mire’s half-sister, authorities told FOX 8.
Prior to Mire’s apprehension, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said he was wanted on charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, illegal use of weapons, home invasion and illegal possession of stolen items with a value up to $25,000, the station reported.
No motive for the shootings was immediately clear, authorities said.
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