Louisiana State Police are promising to make changes after a trail of chaos during a shooting rampage left an officer dead and unattended to for hours.
According to the LSP, 19-year veteran Master Trooper Adam Gaubert was ambushed while in his patrol car. WBRZ investigators learned from sources that Gaubert was shot behind the Capital One bank at Airline and Old Jefferson Street, in an area hidden from the busy highway. The source said that a heavy police presence was noted at the bank 12 hours after Gaubert was attacked.
The suspect, 31-year-old Matthew Mire, is accused of going on a shooting spree across three parishes and shooting five people, killing two. Gaubert and a woman, Pamela Adair, were killed, while another man was critically injured.
According to ABC News, Mire began his rampage in Livingstone Parish, where he barged into a home and shot two people. They were both hit in the arm and are expected to recover. Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said that Mire also stole a car from that scene.
Mire apparently shot at state troopers on the road while he was driving to his next location in Ascension Parish, where he entered a home and shot his next victims.
Mire was eventually arrested without incident after fleeing into a wooded area on foot.
Sheriff Ard said that the shootings were likely not random. “We do not believe this to be a random shooting. It’s believed Mire was familiar with the victims,” he said.
State Police Superintendent Lamar Davis described Mire’s manhunt as a “perfect storm” that restricted radio traffic and caused Gaubert’s death to go unnoticed for 12 hours. Due to an emergency protocol, radio traffic is suspended for emergency broadcasts only.
Davis added that Gaubert was likely responding to the initial shootings in Ascension Parish, saying that police are “investigating Master Trooper Gaubert’s role in [responding to] the early morning homicide case.”
Davis then promised that the agency would make changes to prevent such occurrences in the future, and would “fully investigate all aspects of this incident.”
The State Police Colonel called Gaubert’s death “senseless and tragic.”
“It’s a tough night, one of the toughest nights of my entire career. It hurts. But, we will get through it,” he added.
LSP lauded Gaubert on social media. “Trooper Gaubert embodied everything we stand for; honor, duty, selfless service, and courage. In the days ahead, we will mourn his tragic death and honor his service to our department and the citizens of Louisiana,” the post read.
Gov. John Bell Edwards also acknowledged the fallen trooper in a statement:
“Master Trooper Adam Gaubert dedicated his long career with the Louisiana State Police to protect the people of our state and it is with a heavy heart that I mourn his death from injuries sustained in the line of duty on Saturday. He served selflessly and courageously to keep our people and our communities safe, and he represents the best of all us.”
