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Mom shares news of fatal shooting on Facebook before learning her kids were victims
A mother of three from Baton Rouge, La., is grieving the death of two of her children and their father after posting news of a local shooting to her Facebook page before realizing they were the victims.
Rhonda Champagne woke up to news of a fatal shooting on Saturday morning, recalling to Baton Rouge news station WAFB-TV that she had read that five people were dead just moments before she was approached by police officers who delivered heartbreaking information. Her 20-year-old daughter, Summer Ernest, and 17-year-old son, Tanner Ernest, were both fatally shot in the incident, in addition to their 43-year-old father, Billy Ernest Jr.
“It’s senseless — my babies died for nothing,” Champagne told the local Louisiana news outlet. “Their daddy died for nothing.”
According to a press conference shared on the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page, Billy had been housing his daughter’s boyfriend, alleged shooter Dakota Theriot, for a few weeks before the shooting took place. Law enforcement also confirmed that Theriot then stole Billy’s car and drove to his parent’s trailer in Ascension Parish, La., where he fatally shot both his parents, Elizabeth and Keith Theriot. Ascension Parish police officers arrived on the scene of the second shooting before Keith was pronounced dead and were able to receive confirmation from him that Dakota was the suspect.
The 21-year-old has since been arrested by Livingston Parish officials and booked on three counts of first-degree murder and theft of a motor vehicle at Northern Neck Regional Jail, where he is being held without bond. He will be transferred to Ascension Parish at a later date to be booked on an additional two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion and illegal use of weapons.
The motive for the shooting has yet to be determined. Meanwhile, Champagne told WAFB-TV that she has a 16-year-old son at home who is dealing with the loss of his brother, sister and dad.
“We’re going to have to look at three coffins,” the kids’ grandmother, Evelyn Sing, told the TV station “It’s bad enough one, but we’re going to have to look at three.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
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• School district put on lockdown after Snapchat video of teen firing ‘AK-style’ rifle surfaces
• Doctors pay tribute to Chicago shooting victim Tamara O’Neal, MD: ‘We are so sorry we couldn’t protect you’
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