Manhunt on for 31-year-old who opened fire at Louisiana parishes

crime scene [Photo by kat wilcox from Pexels]
[Photo by kat wilcox from Pexels]

BATON ROUGE, La. — Authorities believe that the driver who fired at a Louisiana state trooper early Saturday (Oct. 9) was responsible for killing a woman and shooting three other people across two parishes hours earlier.

Sheriff’s deputies said Matthew Mire, 31, killed a woman and injured a man in Ascension Parish early Saturday. Mire has also been linked to the shooting of two people in Livingston Parish around midnight Saturday morning. Both of those victims survived.

By 5:00 a.m., state police tried to stop someone driving a pickup on Louisiana Highway 42 in Ascension for a traffic violation. The driver fled into East Baton Rouge Parish, firing at the trooper who was in pursuit. At a news conference, authorities said they believe Mire is the person who fired at the trooper, WBRZ-TV reported.

The trooper was not injured, but his police car was damaged by bullets.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said Mire shot and killed Pamela Adair, 37, at a home in Prairieville around 3 a.m. before fleeing. He also shot another man who was transported to a hospital, the sheriff said.

In Livingston Parish, authorities said Mire shot two people — a man and woman — at a trailer park on Highway 444. Deputies said the man was shot in the arm and the woman was shot in both her arm and leg. Both of those victims are expected to survive, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies said the victims heard a noise outside and later found Mire “barging in through their front door and firing shots,” deputies told the television station.

The sheriff’s office said Mire stole a vehicle as he fled Livingston Parish and it’s believed the stolen vehicle was the same pickup truck troopers encountered when the pursuit began hours later.

“We do not believe (the shooting in Livingston Parish) to be a random shooting,” Sheriff Jason Ard said in a statement. “It’s believed Mire was familiar with the victims.”

Mire is wanted by the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office for attempted first-degree murder, first-degree murder, illegal use of weapons, home invasion and illegal possession of stolen things up to $25,000. The expected charges in Livingston and East Baton Rouge parishes have not been specified. (AP)