Louisiana police officer found dead in search of suspect in multiple shootings

A Louisiana state police officer was found dead in Ascension Parish on Saturday evening as law enforcement swept the area looking for a suspect in the murder of one person and the shooting of several others.

The New Orleans branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was assisting at the scene where the officer was found dead and confirmed the death was linked to “a manhunt for an armed man linked to several shootings in several parishes this weekend. “

The ATF did not disclose information about the officer’s death or how the suspect was specifically linked to the officer’s death.

Authorities spent Saturday searching for Matthew Mire, 31, on suspicion of breaking and entering a house and shooting two people in Prairieville around 3 a.m. on Saturday, according to the Sheriff’s Office of the Parish of St. ‘Ascension.

Joseph Schexnayder, 43, and Pamela Adair, 37, were both taken to the hospital where Adair later died. Schexnayder is in critical but stable condition, the sheriff’s office said.

Hours earlier, in the nearby parish of Livingston, Mire was suspected of breaking into another house and shooting two other people. In this incident, a woman was shot twice in the arm and leg and a man was shot in the arm. The two are expected to recover, said Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard.

“The couple tell detectives that they heard a noise outside their house. They then saw someone barge in through the front door and fire shots,” Ard said. “We don’t believe this was a random shooting. Mire is believed to have known the victims.”

Mire allegedly stole a blue 2013 Chevrolet Silverado at this scene, authorities said.

At 5 a.m., a Louisiana State soldier attempted to stop a pickup truck in East Baton Rouge Parish when they came under fire driver, authorities said. The officer was not hit, but law enforcement believes the driver was Mire.

Mire is considered armed and dangerous, police said.