SALISBURY — Vermont State Police said they suspect a connection between the dead body of a man was found off Route 53/Lake Dunmore Road in Salisbury on Tuesday, and the police shooting of Christopher G. Louras in Rutland that mourning.
But as of press time for this edition of the Independent, police hadn’t released the name of the dead man in Salisbury or the link between the cases.
State police are investigating the Salisbury death as a possible homicide, along with potential links to the subsequent shooting at the Rutland Police Department and the events that transpired afterward in a parking lot off Evelyn Street near the railroad tracks downtown.
Investigators said on Tuesday that they did not believe there was any danger to the public, which implies that the Louras may have been connected to the death of the man in Salisbury.
Louras, 33, of Rutland was the son of former Rutland Mayor Christopher Louras.
According to state police, Christopher G. Louras drove by the Rutland City Police Department at about 5:30 a.m. on Oct. 8 and fired a gun multiple times into the front entrance of the building. No one was injured.
Shortly before 7 a.m., police located the vehicle and began chasing it. That culminated with an exchange of gunfire between the Louras and police in the Evelyn Street parking lot. Gunfire struck Louras, who was taken to Rutland Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
No officers or civilians were hurt.
Police did not say where along Route 53 in Salisbury they found the body on Tuesday, but witnesses said officers were gathered near Camp Keeywadin on the east side of Lake Dunmore.
State police did not initially release the name of the man found in Salisbury, but said it would be released following notification of next of kin and further investigation. On Wednesday, state police said that the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington would perform an autopsy that day to determine the cause and manner of his death, and confirm the man’s identity.
Look for updates to this story online at addisonindependent.com.