Police located an “armed and dangerous” suspect Sunday in Virginia who they say shot and killed at least five people Saturday in Louisiana, investigators said.
UPDATE 10:00 a.m. EST Jan. 27: Authorities say 21-year-old man Dakota Theriot, who is suspected of shooting and killing at least five people in Louisiana, was captured Sunday in Virginia.
Theriot will be transported back to Ascension Parish at a later date and booked on two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion, and illegal use of weapons, according to a statement from the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Department.
Original report: Police are searching for an "armed and dangerous" suspect who they say has shot and killed at least five people, investigators said.
Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said in a news conference that Dakota Theriot is the “prime suspect” in the deaths of Keith Theriot, 50, and Elizabeth Theriot, 50, of Gonzales, his parents.
Deputies initially found the two still alive and were able to interview one of the victims before they were transported to a hospital in Baton Rouge, where they later died.
Dakota Theriot is also suspected of killing Billy Ernest, 43, Tanner Ernest, 17, and Summer Ernest, 20, in Livingston Parish, authorities said. Webre said they were not relatives of the suspect but appeared to know him.
Dakota Theriot was last seen driving a gray and silver 2004 Dodge Ram pickup with license plate C583809. Webre said the suspect was possibly headed east toward Mississippi. The Associated Press said that the pickup was stolen and Dakota Theriot is considered armed and dangerous.
Ascension sheriff’s spokeswoman Allison Hudson says authorities believe the shootings in the two parishes are connected and investigators from both jurisdictions are working together.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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