US Gunman Wanted For 'Opening Fire At 3 People In A Week' Killed After Shootout With Police

Three policemen were injured in the shootout with Matthew Lathers, 31, before he was shot dead by a sniper. Shootout began after Lathers allegedly shot at 2 people parked near a family member's home.

Matthew Lathers was also a suspect in a holdup and shooting that occurred on Tuesday. ( Image Source :Representational Image/Getty )

Three US police officers were injured on Sunday during a shootout with a man suspected of shooting at three people over the past week in New Orleans, Louisiana. The suspect, eventually shot dead by a sniper, was identified as 31-year-old Matthew Lathers, a CNN report said, quoting an official statement.

The confrontation between police and Lathers started after a shooting incident was reported outside a home on Sunday morning in the nearby town of Kenner, where the 31-year-old was accused of opening fire at and injuring two people, said Kenner police spokesman Captain Michael Cunningham. 

A Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team took position outside the house Sunday afternoon, and Lathers was subsequently shot by a sniper. An Associated Press report said the injured officers were rushed to a hospital in Kenner.

Sunday Shooting 

Around 9.45 am, spokesman Cunningham said, two people were shot outside the home. The victims, he added, were sitting in a vehicle. The police officer was quoted as saying by CNN that the victims were either going to or coming back from church, and “just happened to stop there in front of that residence and that’s when they were shot”. 

The detectives who arrived at the scene, the report said, recognised the address as belonging to a Lathers family member. The assailant reportedly had an outstanding warrant for attempted murder and armed robbery from earlier in the week, the statement said. The case involved a holdup and shooting that occurred on Tuesday and left a man in critical condition.

According to CNN, the joint statement said that several attempts were made on Sunday to contact Lathers and negotiate with him, but all efforts were “unsuccessful”.

The two injured police officers were released from the hospital while the other is in “stable condition”.