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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.
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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.
The staff at the Hodgenville Police Department are enjoying their new digs.
“The city had the opportunity to purchase the old DWE building located at 1250 Old Elizabethtown Road at the corner of KY 210 and Northridge Circle here in town,” said Hodgenville Police Chief James Richardson. “It’s a big building. We have an administrative portion of the front and a large warehouse in the back along with an impound lot area that’s fenced in next to the building.”
That’s Hodgenville Police Chief James Richardson. The new location was an opportunity for two city departments to get more space.
“It was a little bit too big for us, and a bit too big for maintenance, but together we’re going to share it, so we’re in the front and we share the back portion of the building with the Maintenance Department,” Richardson said.
Richardson said after splitting some services between the old and new locations things are just about at 100 percent at the new office.
“We moved in last week, and we’ve got everything up here,” Richardson said. “We’ve got a few more minor things to get done, some housekeeping issues. We’re constructing a little bit of this, that, and the other, but everything we need is here, so we’re actually moved into the building.”
The Hodgenville Police Department plans to host an open house at the new building once things are fully installed.
An Elizabethtown factory was highlighted during Governor Andy Beshear’s Team Kentucky update Thursday.
The governor congratulated LOTTE Aluminum Materials USA for beginning the hiring process to fill 122 full-time jobs at their Elizabethtown facility.
Governor Beshear said LOTTE’s commitment to Elizabethtown is a product of the state’s strong relationship with South Korea. He said LOTTE has connections across the globe that can benefit the state.
“I got to visit the company when I was in Seoul just about a month ago, and the opportunity to have such a sophisticated company open up a facility in Kentucky gives us the opportunity for growth over time,” Beshear said. “This is a big win for us, and we’re going to make sure it’s a big win for this company, and we can’t wait for the decades to come and how this partnership grows and evolves.”
LOTTE announced plans to build a $238.7 million aluminum foil manufacturing facility in Hardin County in 2022. The facility will produce cathode foil, a core material used in EV batteries.
Production Manager Germain Smith spoke during the update and said support from the state and from LOTTE’s Korean headquarters will allow employees to hit the ground running.
“We have been fortunate to have the ability to start investing in our employees from the beginning,” Smith said. “By partnering with the local community college and Kentucky Trains, this opportunity has allowed us to build custom training programs for our employees to participate in.”
Smith said partnerships with Elizabethtown Community and Technical College have also proven beneficial, including training for Korean employees on American culture and for American employees on Korean culture.