Woman shoots husband dead at Walmart in front of children

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Mugshot of Kayla GilesImage source, Alexandria Police Department
Image caption,

Police say Kayla Giles, 31, has been charged with second-degree murder

A 31-year-old US woman has been arrested in Louisiana after allegedly shooting her estranged husband dead in a Walmart car park on Saturday morning.

Police say Kayla Giles was meeting Thomas Couttee Jr to undertake a child custody exchange when she shot him once in the chest.

Despite emergency efforts to revive him at the scene, the 30-year-old died from his injuries.

Police confirmed three children were present but uninjured in the incident.

They were initially taken to a local police headquarters, then transferred into the custody of family members by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.

Image source, Facebook / Thomas Couttee Jr
Image caption,

The couple were married in 2014

Police say they were called to a report of shots fired at the supermarket car park fired at about 11:15 local (16:15 GMT) Saturday morning.

Witnesses told local media that someone was performing CPR on Mr Couttee when police and firefighters arrived at the scene.

Emergency workers then tried to revive him for at least another 20 minutes.

The victim's name was initially withheld while police notified family members.

Local news website Town Talk says that Mr Couttee had filed a police complaint about his wife being violent in the past, and had filed a motion against joint-custody., external

Police said the Saturday handover was happening at an "outer section" of the supermarket car park without many other cars around.

Officials have not revealed any motive or any further information about the shooting.

Ms Giles, who is still referred to as Kayla Couttee by some local outlets, has been charged with second-degree murder by the Alexandria Police Department, who set her bail at $500,000 (£385,000).

The couple wed in 2014, according to Mr Couttee's Facebook page.