Travis Boys Manhunt Ends After Suspect In New Orleans Police Slaying Arrested In Lower 9th Ward

The suspect in the slaying of a New Orleans police officer was arrested Sunday in the wake of a citywide manhunt, according to the Times-Picayune. Authorities identified the suspect as Travis Boys, 33, who escaped custody Saturday by allegedly shooting and killing Police Officer Daryle Holloway, 46, who had served with the local police department for 22 years.

Boys was reportedly spotted boarding a bus headed for the city’s Lower Ninth Ward Sunday morning. A short chase ensued near the intersection of Reynes Street and St. Claude Avenue, but Boys was quickly apprehended, according to local reports.

Boys had been previously arrested on charges of aggravated battery. Holloway, who was not the arresting officer, was transporting Boys to Orleans Parish Prison when the suspect, whose hands had been handcuffed behind his back, somehow got hold of a hidden gun, shooting the officer. Holloway crashed his vehicle after being shot, and Boys reportedly fled on foot.

The shooting kicked off a massive manhunt that involved the Louisiana State Police and a SWAT team. “Today is an extremely sad day,” New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Michael S. Harrison said of the slaying. “Not only is it a sad day for me, it’s a sad day for the city of New Orleans, especially the Holloway family.”

Authorities in bulletproof vests accompanied by trained canines combed through a neighborhood near the city’s French Quarter Saturday looking for Boys. Police checked residents’ backyards and the crawl spaces underneath homes, according to the Associated Press. A $10,000 reward had been announced for information leading to Boy’s arrest.

Holloway reportedly attempted to keep Boys from exiting the vehicle, but the suspect was able to get into the front seat through an opening in the cage that separated the officer from him.