1 Child Dead, Another Critically Injured After They’re Thrown From a Bridge

A young child is dead and another seriously injured after they were apparently thrown from a bridge into Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Initial reports said the children, believed to be siblings, were thrown into the water from the Interstate 220 bridge over the lake, but Shreveport police later said they may have gone into the water from a much lower bridge carrying a surface street over a small bay nearby.

“We do believe at this point the children were thrown from a bridge. We don’t know which one yet,” Sgt Angie Willhite, Shreveport Police Public Information Officer, told the Shreveport Times. “We do not believe this was anything random in nature. Our detectives are still working toward gathering information and evidence.”

Authorities had also been searching for a third child they thought might be in the water, but that child was later found safe at a different location.

Marine patrol officers responded to the Willow Point area just before 11 a.m. Friday on a report of a dead child in the water. They located the child’s body and quickly rescue another child, who was taken to Ochsner LSU Health in critical condition.

As they investigated, investigators learned about the possibility of a third child, and multiple agencies responded to search the area with boat, helicopters, and ground crews. The investigation also uncovered a suspect driving a grey Dodge Caravan with a Texas license plate, and police put out a “be on the lookout” notice for the vehicle.

Officials said a Waskom, Texas, police officer patrolling Interstate 20 early in the afternoon thought he saw the vehicle at a rest stop just over the state line and turned around to investigate. That officer pulled her over and took her into custody, KTBS reported. He brought her back to the state line and transferred her in the custody of Louisiana State Police.

Shreveport officials said the woman, who has not yet been named, was in her mid-30s. The children’s ages have also not been released.

Police are still trying to sort out exactly what happened.

“There’s been conflicting statements, so we’re not going to say that happened until we know that happened,” Wilhite said. “Putting bad information out there could be … devastating to our case, so until we determine that we’re not going to release that.”

Wilhite said detectives have been given two entirely different stories about what took place.

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[Featured image: The Interstate 220 bridge over Cross Lake from Willow Point, where two children were found in the water Friday morning. One of the children was dead/Google Maps]