Louisiana Man Kills Wife, Son and 2-year-old Grandson and Then Himself

A Louisiana killing spree that left four family members dead, including a 2-year-old boy, marked the bloody culmination of an ongoing domestic dispute between the suspected gunman and his estranged wife, said the father of a woman who survived the shootings.

Photo: Louisiana Man Kills Wife, Son and 2-year-old Grandson and Then Himself

Dennis Carter Sr. shot and killed his wife, son and 2-year-old grandson, then shot himself to death as police tried to pull over his car about 20 minutes later, Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office Chief of Operations Perry Rushing said Sunday.

Also shot was Carter Sr.'s daughter-in-law, Amber Carter, who was six months pregnant and was in intensive care in a New Orleans hospital after giving birth to a healthy boy named Aubrey, said her father, Paul Williamson, The Associated Press reports.

According to CNN, authorities were dispatched to a report of shots fired at a home about 10:40 p.m. Upon arrival, they found three people dead and the fourth -- Amber Carter, 25 -- in critical condition, the statement said.

A neighbor in the area told deputies that he heard a gunshot and saw Carter Sr. walking to a car, a red El Camino, with a gun in his hand, the sheriff's statement said.

At 11:30 p.m., a police officer in the adjacent town of Livingston saw the vehicle entering Interstate 12 heading eastbound, the statement said. A Livingston Parish sheriff's deputy followed the car and attempted to stop it. "However, the suspect shot himself with a handgun, in plain view of the officers, as the vehicle veered off the shoulder of the interstate near the Holden exit," police said.

Deputies issued a statement saying a neighbor reported he heard a gunshot and saw the elder Carter walking to a car with a gun in his hand. Police later spotted the car entering Interstate 12, followed it and attempted to stop it.

"However, the suspect shot himself with a handgun, in plain view of the officers, as the vehicle veered off the shoulder of the interstate near the Holden exit," police said in the statement, reports United Press International.