New Orleans Parish assistant DA dies by apparent suicide in office: report
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Ian Kersting, the assistant attorney general of a New Orleans Parish, was found dead by apparent suicide in his office, police said.
The 34-year-old was found with "apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds" at his office, the New Orleans Police Department confirmed to WVUE-DT. His body was found by police around 9 p.m. on Saturday at the District Attorney's Office.
New Orleans EMS arrived, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, police confirmed to the outlet.
Fox News Digital reached out to the New Orleans Police Department for comment.
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Kersting, 34, was admitted to the Louisiana bar in October 2020.
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He was tasked in the District Attorney's Office as a specialist in sexual harassment cases and was assigned to the office's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). The initiative worked in tandem with the New Orleans Police Department by investigating and prosecuting sex crimes while using recovered DNA evidence.
Following his death, the New Orleans District Attorney's Office released a statement mourning the loss of a "beloved member" of the office.
"The Orleans Parish DA’s Office family suffered a terrible tragedy Saturday night," the statement said. "Assistant District Attorney Ian Kersting was a beloved member of our office, and we send our love and deepest condolences to his family."
"It’s important that we support each other right now, and we ask the media respect the privacy of the individuals impacted," the statement said.
Kersting’s death happened just days after a terrorist attack rocked the city in the early hours of New Year’s Day, leaving 14 victims dead and dozens injured.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an Army veteran from Houston, plowed a rented Ford pickup through a crowd of Bourbon Street revelers in the attack that officials say was inspired by the Islamic State.
The FBI recovered a black ISIS flag from the rented truck and found that Jabbar pledged allegiance to ISIS in online videos posted hours before the attack.
Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.