La. man shoots wife and son, kills self; 2-year-old also dies, possibly trying to escape

2-year-old, 3 others dead in La. domestic incident

HOLDEN, La. — A man shot his estranged wife and son to death and critically wounded his pregnant daughter-in-law inside a rural Louisiana home, authorities said. The man’s 2-year-old grandson also died, possibly as the child’s mother tried to help him escape out of a second-story window.

The man shot and killed himself in his car about 20 minutes later when deputies tried to pull him over on a highway, 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 30 miles east of Baton Rouge, 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 found inside and 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.