Woman, two police officers dead in Bay St. Louis motel shooting

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (WJTV/WGNO) — Two police officers and a woman are dead after an early-morning shooting at a Bay St. Louis motel, authorities said Wednesday.

Detectives say the shooting, an apparent murder-suicide, happened around 4:30 a.m. at the Motel 6 on Highway 90 in Hancock County.

According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI), the two officers with the Bay St. Louis Police Department responded to the motel after receiving a call for a welfare check. They were later identified as Sgt. Steven Robin and Officer Branden Estorffe.

When Robbin and Estorffe arrived, police say they encountered a woman, later identified as 43-year-old Amy Anderson, sitting in a parked car with a girl. The girl’s age and whether she was related to Anderson were undisclosed, however, we’re told the state department of Child Protective Services was called in to assist.

MBI officials said after a nearly 30-minute conversation with the officers, Anderson fired a gun from inside the vehicle, striking both officers. Robin was pronounced dead at the scene and Estorffe died shortly after arriving to an area hospital.

Detectives say Anderson then turned the gun on herself, dying from a gunshot wound to her chest. Once MBI agents complete their full investigation, we’re told they will share their findings with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.

BSLPD Chief Toby Schwartz says a press conference will be held Thursday morning at 10 a.m. and more details will be released then.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves commented on the fatal shooting, saying:

“I am heartbroken by this terrible loss of two brave law enforcement officers. I am praying for their family, friends, their fellow officers, and the entire Bay St. Louis community. Every single day across Mississippi, our law enforcement members place their lives on the line in constant and repeated acts of selfless sacrifice for their community. They are a key reason that the rest of us are safely and freely able to live our lives. They are the thin blue line.”