Fatally Shot Miss. Police Officer Killed Assailant in Final Moments

An Ocean Springs veterinarian initially suspected of killing herself after shooting two Bay St. Louis police officers was shot and killed by one of the officers during an exchange of gunfire before that officer fell to the ground with fatal injuries, state Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell told the Sun Herald on Thursday.

The Mississippi Department of Investigation, the agency that investigates all police shootings in the state, erroneously said in a press release Wednesday morning that Amy Brodgon Anderson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after shooting Sgt. Steven Robin, 34, and Officer Branden Estorffe, 23, after they responded to a welfare check at Motel 6 off Highway 90 around 4:30 a.m.

Later that afternoon, Tindell said authorities had since determined that one of the two officers' service weapons had been discharged and that additional testing, such as a test for gun residue and autopsies, had to be done to determine if Anderson, 43, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Testing completed Thursday determined that a round from Estorffe's gun killed Anderson after she had already fatally shot Robin in the head.

Before releasing the updated information, Tindell told the Sun Herald late Thursday, "We are reviewing the body camera footage to try and piece together a clearer picture of what happened because it was a chaotic scene."

Shooter asked motel staff to dial 9-1-1

Further investigation has revealed Anderson had rented a room at Motel 6 despite living in Jackson County.

At around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, Tindell said, Anderson went to an employee at Motel 6 and asked them to call 911 to get authorities there.

"She thought someone was following her," Tindell said. "It appears she had a mental break."

Anderson had been staying in a room she had rented there for her and her 8-year-old daughter, Tindell said.

Robin and Estorffe got to the scene nine minutes later at 3:39 a.m, Tindell said, and spent about 40 minutes talking to Anderson and her child in and outside of her motel room before Anderson and the child went to her brown Toyota Highlander parked near her room on the west side of the motel.

At 4:19 a.m., the body camera footage showed Anderson shooting Robin in the head, killing him.

At the time, Robin was still trying to speak to Anderson, who was in the driver's seat of her SUV, with her child in the passenger seat.

When the shooting started, he said, Estorffe was about 20 to 30 yards away from the SUV near the patrol car talking to Child Protective Services.

Estorffe, Tindell said, exchanged gunfire with Anderson before he fell to the ground with fatal injuries.

Anderson died of a gunshot wound to the chest, and an autopsy and other forensic testing showed the round that killed her came from Estorffe's gun.

Officer actions saved lives

"Based upon the information that I have seen, there is no doubt in my mind that Officer Robin and Officer Estorffe had very legitimate and real concerns regarding the safe of this 8-year-old child and that the actions they both took resulting in saving the lives of others, including the child."

After the shooting, an elderly couple at the motel grabbed the child and took her away from the crime scene.

Anderson's two other children had been taken from her to live with their father prior to the shooting.

Since the killings, law enforcement officials throughout the state and country have offered praise and condolences for the loss of the two police officers killed in the line of duty.

Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said Thursday that Robin was a beloved husband, father and grandfather and Estorffe — who was always smiling — was following in his father's footsteps by becoming a police officer. Estorffe began his career in law enforcement in July 2021. A joint funeral will be held for the officers on Wednesday.

Before her death, Anderson, a native of Vicksburg, had been working as a veterinarian in Ocean Springs and at MedVet in Mobile, according to her Facebook page.

In addition, a records search showed she had been at vet offices in Vicksburg, where her father was a longtime vet, in Gulfport and elsewhere.

The news of her death and involvement in the killing has left those who knew her to try to make some sense of what happened.

The shooting remains under investigation.

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