UPDATE 8/20/24: The Elizabethtown Police Department has confirmed that Christopher Elder died Monday evening as a result of injuries he sustained from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head during a standoff with police.
—
Two people are dead and another is injured following a shooting in a parking lot across from the Hardin County Justice Center Monday, and the suspect is hospitalized after a vehicle pursuit ended with him shooting himself.
The Elizabethtown Police Department said Christopher Elder is currently hospitalized in critical condition.
Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompsion said during a press conference that shortly before 9 a.m. Monday 911 calls came in reporting the shooting.
“We were on scene within a minute, and located three victims while we were down there, and the suspect had fled the scene, obviously armed and dangerous,” Thompson said. “We began working to find that individual. We later identified him as Christopher Elder.”
The EPD said 37-year-old Erica Riley of Elizabethtown was pronounced dead at the scene. Her mother, 71-year-old Janet Riley of Hardinsburg, died as a result of her injuries at an area hospital. A third victim is currently hospitalized in stable condition.
Thompson said Elder had been in a relationship with one of the victims, later identified as Erica Riley.
“At no time was this a threat to anyone other than the individuals that were involved,” Thompson said. “This was a domestic-related incident. There was a hearing at the courthouse this morning stemming from previous incidents, and we believe it was isolated to the individuals that were involved.”
Thompson described the shooting as an ambush-style attack, and Elder’s vehicle had been seen waiting around the area ahead of the shooting.
The Hopkinsville Police Department said in a Facebook post that their officers along with officers from the Christian County and Muhlenburg County sheriff’s offices and the Kentucky State Police pursued a male subject, identified by the EPD as Elder, after he fled the Elizabethtown area. The HPD said that at multiple times during the pursuit Elder pointed a rifle at pursuing officers. Elder then pointed the rifle at himself after pulling into a church parking lot near the intersection of Greenville and Judges Chapel roads, and after about 90 minutes of negotiations with police he shot himself in the head. Elder was transported to Vanderbilt Hospital.
The EPD is investigating the shooting, while Kentucky State Police Post 2 is investigating the pursuit and standoff.
