
Man Fatally Shoots Girlfriend, Her Mother Near Courthouse As They Sought Protective Order
HuffPost
Erica Riley had sought protection from a boyfriend she said abused her and her two children, according to court records. The gunman killed himself in a standoff.
A Kentucky woman who was seeking a protective order against her boyfriend was fatally shot alongside her mother on Monday morning outside the courthouse in Elizabethtown before her hearing.
Erica Riley, 37, and her mother, Janet Riley, 71, were identified by multiple news outlets as the women who were killed by Christopher Elder, 46, outside the Hardin County Justice Center.
A third family member was wounded, Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson told reporters on Monday. Police did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request Tuesday for an update on their condition.
After a pursuit and standoff with police, Elder fatally shot himself.
Court records cited by WAVE-TV in Louisville said that Erica Riley and Elder were scheduled for a court hearing that morning on a request for an emergency protective order. Riley said that Elder had been abusive toward her and her two children for a year and a half.