(CNN) — A man looking for his abducted cousin kicked in the back door of an abandoned house and shot and killed her kidnapper, authorities in Louisiana said.
The shooting Friday has been ruled justified by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Department.
The cousin, whose name was withheld by the sheriff’s department, said he heard screams from the house, said Sheriff’s Capt. Kip Judice.
The cousin said he saw a man start stabbing 29-year-old Bethany Arceneaux when he broke through the door. The cousin fired several shots with a handgun, but he told police he wasn’t sure if he hit the kidnapper in the dark house, Judice said.
Inside, officers found the body of Scott Thomas, who had a child with Arceneaux and had previously violated a restraining order protecting her, Judice said.
Arceneaux was hospitalized with wounds but is expected to recover, the sheriff’s captain said.
Arceneaux disappeared Wednesday night. Thomas’ car was found that night abandoned behind a cane field about a mile from a road.
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