In his final moments, Bay St. Louis police officer shot veterinarian who opened fire at Motel 6
In a final act before his death, Bay St. Louis police Officer Branden Estorffe killed a Coast veterinarian who had already shot and killed another officer outside a Motel 6.
In the exchange of gunfire in the early-morning Wednesday, Estorffe, 23, shot and killed Amy Brogdan Anderson, 43, before he fell to the ground with fatal injuries.
Anderson killed both Estorffe and Bay St. Louis police Sgt. Steven Robin, 34, during the encounter at the Highway 90 motel.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the agency that investigates all police shootings in the state, initially said in a press release early Wednesday that Anderson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after shooting Robin in the head, killing him instantly, and shooting Estorffe. Estorffe died a short time after the shooting at a nearby hospital.
Later Wednesday, Sean Tindell, the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said MBI investigators had since determined that one of the two officers’ service weapons had been discharged and that additional testing, such as gun residue tests and autopsies, had to be done to determine if Anderson, a Coast veterinarian, died by suicide.
Testing completed Thursday determined a round from Estorffe’s gun killed Anderson.
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.”
Estorffe is now being hailed as a hero along with his partner for ending the violence before someone else got hurt.
Shooter asked motel staff to dial 911
Further investigation has revealed Anderson had rented a room at Motel 6 despite living in Jackson County.
At around 3:35 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.” She told police she was being followed by a white pick-up truck.
Anderson had been staying in a room she had rented there for her and her 8-year-old daughter, Tindell said.
Estorffe got to the scene at 3:38 a.m, Tindell said, and Robin arrived one minute later. The officers 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.
The officers decided to contact child protective services out of concerns for the safety of the child. Anderson and her child began loading their vehicle and told the officers they were going to leave the hotel.
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 safety of this 8-year-old child and that the actions they both took resulted 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.
This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 11:16 AM.
