Woman kills two police officers before dying by suicide in Mississippi
A woman killed two police officers before dying by suicide in a shootout at a Mississippi motel, according to authorities.
Two officers in Bay St Louis were killed at Motel 6 on Highway 90 early on Wednesday morning after responding to a call, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
The “call of service” came in around 4.30am in Hancock County when the armed woman shot and killed the officers before dying by suicide.
One of the officers died at the scene while the other passed after being taken to a hospital in the area, 4WWL reported.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the case.
When reached by The Independent, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shared a statement saying that “at approximately 4.30am, Bay St Louis Police Department officers Branden Estorffe (23 years old) and Steven Robin (34 years old), responded to a call for a welfare check”.
At the motel, they encountered Amy Anderson, 43, who was sitting in a parked car with a “minor female”.
“After nearly a 30-minute interaction with Anderson, during which time Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services was called, Anderson discharged a weapon from inside the vehicle striking both officers,” the department said. “Officer Robin received fatal injuries at the scene and Officer Estorffe succumbed to his injuries a short time later. Anderson died at the scene as a result of a gunshot wound to her chest.”
Bay St Louis Mayor Mike Favre said in a statement that “this is a very sad situation, and our deepest thoughts and condolences go out to the families of our lost officers”.
“We ask that you pray for the City of Bay St. Louis, the Bay St. Louis Police Department and their families and that you keep them in your thoughts in the coming days and weeks during this difficult time,” he added.
Bay St Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said that “a tragedy occurred here today in the city of Bay St. Louis as two of our finest officers’ lives were taken”.
“We are gathering facts and will ensure a thorough investigation into this matter,” he added.
The Department of Public Safety said the investigation is “open and ongoing”.
Republican Governor Tate Reeves said in a statement on Wednesday that “early this morning two Bay St Louis Police officers were tragically shot and killed in the line of duty”.
“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 added.
“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.”
“The thin blue line” refers to the idea that the police are the only thing standing between society and violent chaos.
Florida officers in Riviera Beach were ordered by their captain to remove thin blue line flags from their personal cars in 2017, CBS12 reported.
San Francisco officers were forbidden from wearing masks with thin blue line symbols while working. Bill Scott, the police chief, said that the action was taken “in consideration of concerns some community members have expressed that ‘thin blue line’ symbolism on some of our officers’ face masks may be perceived as divisive or disrespectful,” Fox News reported.
The police chief in Middletown, Connecticut, William McKenna, made a statement on 1 June 2020 alongside Mayor Ben Florsheim, saying that they would remove the thin blue line flag from the police department, Patch reported. A petition on change.org garnered 1,300 signatures urging the city to remove the flags following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
