Suspect in shooting outside a Kentucky courthouse dies of self-inflicted gunshot wound

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) — A man accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend and her mother outside a Kentucky courthouse has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after leading police on a highway chase that ended in a church parking lot, authorities said Tuesday.

The suspect, Christopher Elder, 46, died Monday evening at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where he had been flown by helicopter earlier in the day.

Elder was accused of opening fire in a parking lot outside the Hardin County Justice Center in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, on Monday morning, killing Erica Riley, 37, and her mother, 71-year-old Janet Riley. A third victim, a man whose identity has not yet been released but who is related to both women, is in stable condition in the hospital, police said. They had appeared for a court hearing on a restraining order against Elder.

In response to the shooting, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said Tuesday that his office would work with the state's policymakers to find ways to prevent another tragedy of this nature from happening.

“Domestic violence is a serious problem that we cannot – and will not – ignore,” Coleman said in a statement. “The Attorney General's Office consistently works with policymakers, prosecutors, stakeholders and law enforcement to protect victims.”

The shooting sparked an intense manhunt for the suspect. Elder's vehicle was found by authorities on a western Kentucky highway, and the suspect at times pointed a rifle at officers during the pursuit, Hopkinsville police said on social media.

Elder fled to a church parking lot in the Fruit Hill community in Christian County, Kentucky, where he turned the gun on himself and officers, police said. During the standoff, police negotiators spoke with Elder for about 90 minutes before the suspect shot himself in the head, police said.

Elizabethtown is located about 45 miles (72.4 kilometers) south of Louisville and the community of Fruit Hill is located about 108 miles (173.8 kilometers) southwest of Elizabethtown.