Deputy put up 'grisly' fight before being killed with daughter by neighbor

GLYNN – A veteran West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's deputy and her daughter were killed by a disgruntled neighbor in a gunfight the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff called “grisly.”

Deputy Donna LeBlanc and her daughter, Carli Jo LeBlanc, 21, were shot and killed by Gregory Phillips who eventually killed himself.

WBRZ.com was first to break the story earlier in the afternoon shortly after sources said a 911 call was made about the shooting. At an evening news conference, Sheriff Bud Torres, said the call for help was made shortly before 4 p.m. WBRZ learned, earlier in the afternoon, Donna LeBlanc's nine-year-old daughter called 911. The child was not injured.

LeBlanc is married to a State Police officer, who was notified about the deadly violence at his home. State Police had a heavy presence at the crime scene until late Tuesday.

The relationship between Phillips and the family was described as estranged, but Torres said it is still unclear what set Phillips off that he had to shoot and kill.

“We don't know why,” he said. Adding, “There was not a pleasant relationship between the neighbors.”

Phillips arrived at the house in the 14400 block of Highway 416 between False River in the Mississippi River and encountered Deputy LeBlanc first. The pair exchanged gunfire – LeBlanc fired at least three rounds from her department-issued pistol before Phillips killed her.

Phillips continued up to the porch where he shot and killed the daughter, the sheriff said. Phillips stopped at the door to the home and shot himself.

“[Deputy LeBlanc] defended her ground,” the sheriff said.

The outdoor investigation was complicated by nightfall, but the sheriff said deputies are working to figure out what transpired. He asked anyone with information of the situation, or Phillips' behavior, to contact authorities.

“We would like to know; whatever it is,” he said.

LeBlanc had been on the force for about two decades. Phillips was not an regular troublemaker with the law, the sheriff said.

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