Officer, woman die; suspect critical after shooting himself

[...] authorities say, the off-duty police officer in the New Orleans suburb of Westwego came upon the aftermath of horrific domestic violence that would cost him his life.

Louviere was one of two people shot to death Friday morning in mayhem that ended with a suicidal suspect shooting himself during an hours-long standoff with police as he stood on the girder of a bridge high over the Mississippi River.

During the hours of negotiations with police, Holt admitted shooting his pregnant ex-girlfriend Simone Veal, 32, and Louviere, both of whom lived in Marrero, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said.

The late evening press conference capped a tumultuous day that began with a frantic 911 call from Veal to authorities saying that she'd just been shot and ended after with the shooting suspect fled to the busy New Orleans bridge, holding traffic captive while he negotiated with police for hours before shooting himself.

According to Westwego Police Chief Dwayne Munch, he had served with the Marines in Afghanistan and was a rising star likely bound for a job at a larger agency.

Less than two weeks later, a lone gunman shot and killed three law enforcement officers and wounded three others in an attack outside a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, convenience store.

Munch, Westwego's police chief, said Louviere helped patrol Baton Rouge after the deadly shootings in that city and helped patrol neighboring Denham Springs after August's historic flooding.