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Victims identified in deadly Bossier City Valero shooting

BOSSIER CITY, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Officials held a press conference Wednesday to provide details on the deadly officer-involved shooting that left two dead at a Valero store in Bossier City.

The suspect has been identified as 50-year-old Cortrell Montesez Burks of Jefferson County, Alabama.


Burks is wanted in Alabama as the suspect in the fatal stabbing of a 40-year-old woman inside a home in Center Point in late April.

Cortrell Montesez Burks, 50 (Source: Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office)

Police initially received reports of the robbery just after 10:10 a.m. Tuesday morning after a nearby restaurant heard gunfire.

Officials say while Burks was robbing the store he shot and killed the store clerk, 36-year-old Jairah Hamilton, and a customer, 47-year-old Joshua Ryan Calk.

As officers responded to the scene, Burks emerged from the Valero and began shooting at them.

During the exchange of gunfire, one BCPD officer was shot multiple times. The officer was taken to Ochsner LSU and is in stable condition.

After gunfire was exchanged, Burks attempted to enter the Le Bossier hotel located behind the Valero but the hotel manager locked the door. Officers then took Burks into custody.

“We want to commend the manager on duty. After hearing the shots, she locked the door and by locking the door, he was unable to make entry. By not being able to make entry he did no further harm,” said Lewis Johnson, Bossier City Public Information Officer.

Police believe Burks was traveling along I-20 and chose to rob the store at random.

Burks was charged with multiple felony charges including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed robbery, three counts of first-degree attempted murder, and a fugitive charge, according to arrest records.

Bossier City Mayor Tommy Chandler extended his condolences to the families of the two people killed in the shooting.

Burks will face criminal charges in Bossier Parish before being extradited to Alabama.

He is being held on a $2.3 million bond in Bossier Max.