BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (AP) — Two police officers in coastal Mississippi were shot and killed by a woman early Wednesday as they checked on a call from a motel, authorities said.
The woman killed herself after shooting the Bay St. Louis police officers at a Motel 6 in the city around 4:30 a.m., the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a statement. It was unclear why the officers were sent to the motel. The statement described it as a “call for service.”
No additional details were released by Mississippi Bureau of Investigation agents who are investigating the shooting.
Investigators Wednesday blocked a large part of the motel parking lot with crime scene tape. An officer was seen taking photos of the driver’s seat of an SUV just a step away from bloodstains on the pavement and discarded emergency medical equipment. Other officers were looking inside a nearby police car.
The officers killed were Sgt. Steven Robin and officer Branden Estorffe, said Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz, who planned a news conference to release more information later Wednesday.
Bay St. Louis is a city of 10,000 people about 25 miles west of Biloxi.
The Mississippi governor offered condolences in a message on social media.
“I am heartbroken by this terrible loss of two brave law enforcement officers,” Gov. Tate Reeves posted on Twitter. “I am praying for their family, friends, their fellow officers, and the entire Bay St. Louis community.”
