NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Two officers were shot and killed in Bay St. Louis on Wednesday (Dec. 14), according to Mississippi authorities.
Officials say the officers, who remain unidentified at this time, were answering a call for service at a Motel 6 on Hwy. 90 when they encountered an armed woman around 4:30 a.m. The woman reportedly shot both officers before killing herself.
One officer died at the scene and the other was transported to a hospital for treatment but later died.
It is unclear what led to the shooting.
Authorities from several different agencies were on the scene for hours before beginning to wrap up around noon.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves was among many officials and law enforcement agencies posting condolences for the fallen officers.
“I am heartbroken by this terrible loss of two brave law enforcement officers. I am praying for their family, friends, their fellow officers, and the entire Bay St. Louis community,” he wrote on Facebook and Twitter Wednesday morning. “Every single day across Mississippi, our law enforcement members place their lives on the line in constant and repeated acts of selfless sacrifice for their community. They are a key reason that the rest of us are safely and freely able to live our lives. They ARE the thin blue line.”
“Words cannot describe how terrible this is,” Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal. “Especially right before Christmas.”
The news stunned many in the Gulfside community.
“My sister called me,” James Loiacano says. “Things like this don’t happen in Bay St. Louis.”
“We live in a shoot first society,” Jimmy Rouse says. “People think you can solve everything with guns. They kill two police officers. It don’t make sense to me.”
One resident told Fox 8 they can’t remember the last time an officer was killed in Bay St. Louis, saying it’s a sign of an influx of out-of-towners into the sleepy community.
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