Manhunt for suspect in fatal shooting of Louisiana police officer

(Reuters) - A suspect in the fatal shooting of an off-duty Louisiana police officer was the target of a manhunt on Friday, hours after the crime occurred, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said.

Westwego Police Officer Michael Louviere, 26, was heading home shortly after 6 a.m. local time on Friday when he stopped to respond to an apparent accident outside New Orleans. He exited his marked vehicle to offer aid, sheriff's spokesman Colonel John Fortunato said in a phone interview.

"The suspect comes up from behind and shoots him in the back of the head," Fortunato said, calling the shooting "a cold-blooded killing."

Fortunato said Louviere was wearing a police uniform, but did not appear to be targeted as a law enforcement officer. A woman was also killed in connection to the crime, authorities said.

Law enforcement officers were searching for a 32-year-old suspect identified as Sylvester Holt but further details were not immediately available.

(Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla.; Editing by Tom Brown)