ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — Two people were killed and another was injured Monday morning after a shooting outside the Hardin County Justice Center in Elizabethtown.
The Elizabethtown Police Department said three people were shot in the parking lot across the street from the Hardin County Justice Center just before 9 a.m.
Mike Cockerel heard the shots and showed WHAS11 where the shooting happened.
"Police were down here," he said, describing the scene. "You could see them with people, down on the ground with them." He paused, walking over to the edge of the lot. "This woman, she didn't make it."
Authorities identified the victim as 37-year-old Erica Riley. Elizabethtown Police said she was dating the suspect, 46-year-old Christopher Elder. Police also confirmed Riley's mother, 71-year-old Janet Riley, of Hardinsburg, was also shot and taken to the hospital where she later died from her injuries.
There is also one additional shooting victim who is in stable condition. Their identity has not been released.
A GoFundMe has been created to support the family. Click here for more information.
Police said Elder drove off from the scene and was eventually found in western Kentucky. The Hopkinsville Police Department said Elder was armed with a rifle and pointed it at officers multiple times during the chase.
The department said that situation ended in a 90-minute standoff in which Elder shot himself. He was airlifted to Tennessee's Vanderbilt Hospital in critical condition.
Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson indicated this was a targeted attack.
"At no time was this a threat to anyone other than the individuals involved," he said.
According to court records, Elder was scheduled to be in court at 9 a.m. for an emergency protective order hearing in a domestic violence case.
"It's terribly tragic," Chief Thompson said. "It underlines the importance of what family court has to go through. There's always emotion involved. It only takes one incident like this to understand how volatile it can be."
Several nearby school districts were on a soft lockdown Monday morning after the shooting in an abundance of caution, however those lockdowns have since lifted.
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