Dakota Theriot, a 21-year-old who was identified as the suspect who allegedly shot and killed five people in two Louisiana parishes, was arrested on Sunday, January 27, in Richmond County, Virginia.
What Happened?
According to police, three people — Billy Ernest, 43, Tanner Ernest, 17, and Summer Ernest, 20 — were found shot and killed inside of a mobile home in Livingston Parish. Louisiana on the morning of Saturday, January 26.
Police believe that Summer Ernest was dating Theriot and that the shootings stemmed from a “boyfriend [and] girlfriend type of dispute.”
Additionally, two others — husband and wife Keith and Elizabeth Theriot, both 50 years old — were found dead inside their home in Gonzales, Louisiana. They were later identified as Theriot’s parents.
Following the shooting, Theriot’s grandmother in Virginia checked herself into a hotel due to fear that Dakota may be coming for her next. While deputies were patrolling Theriot’s grandmother’s mother, Dakota arrived with a “firearm pointed out the window.”
On Saturday, Dakota Theriot shot and killed three people — the woman believed to be his girlfriend, her brother and father — in Louisiana’s Livingston Parish before taking her father’s pickup truck, driving to neighboring Ascension Parish, and shooting his parents, according to authorities.
Theriot’s grandmother in Warsaw, Virginia, had checked into a hotel Saturday night, fearing he might show up there, Richmond County Sheriff Stephan B. Smith said in a phone interview. The woman asked authorities to check her house Sunday morning to ensure it was safe before she returned.
While deputies were there, Smith said, Theriot drove up with a firearm pointed out the window of a pickup. A sheriff’s statement said deputies sought cover and challenged Theriot, who then dropped the gun and was arrested without incident. Smith said the pickup Theriot drove apparently was the one taken in Louisiana.
Who Is Dakota Theriot?
Dakota Theriot, 21, has been identified as the man who shot and killed five people — including his parents and girlfriend — in a killing spree in Louisiana on Saturday, January 26.
Theriot has been charged five counts of first-degree murder, home invasion, illegal use of weapons, and theft of a motor vehicle.
That is all the information available at this time. This article will be updated with new and relevant information should it become available.