A man shot and killed a Sunset, Louisiana, police officer Wednesday and stabbed three women, one of them fatally — including two sisters of the mayor of neighboring Grand Coteau — before smashing his car into a convenience store, where he barricaded himself against police, authorities said.
The suspect was in custody after authorities tossed in tear gas and rammed through an inner office of the convenience store, St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz said. Guidroz identified him as Harrison Lee Wiley Jr.
Sunset police Officer Henry Nelson, 51, the first responder, was shot and killed at the scene of a domestic disturbance call where authorities found the three women with serious stab wounds, Guidroz said.
One of them, Shameka Johnson, 40, was pronounced dead. She was the sister of Grand Coteau Mayor Shaterral Johnson, as is Surlay Johnson, 34, who was in critical condition at Lafayette General Hospital.
The fourth victim — Courtney Jolivette, Wiley's wife — was stable after surgery Wednesday night at an Alexandria hospital.
At least 50 local, parish and state officers responded to the convenience store, and "it went to hell in a handbasket from there," Guidroz said. Wiley wasn't injured except for tear-gas burns to his face and neck.
Guidroz said drugs were suspected. "When people ingest illegal drugs, they get brave, they get stupid," he said.
Sunset and Grand Coteau are neighboring towns about 60 miles west of Baton Rouge, separated by Interstate 49.
