Lafayette, LA: Armed family members rescue woman who had been kidnaped, fatally shoot kidnapper

Police said that family members searched an abandoned property in Duson, La., and saw Arceneaux inside. When they confronted her kidnapper, 29-year-old Scott Thomas, he reportedly started attacking the woman, and he was shot by one of the woman's relatives.  From KLFY in Louisiana:

Details are emerging from how the kidnapping of Bethany Arceneaux ended. According to police, family searched an abandoned property and saw her inside. They got inside and Thomas attacked her. The family member then defended Bethany, shooting Thomas. Then left the scene with Bethany. Thomas has been pronounced dead. . . . 

[W]e are getting good news from Bethany Arceneaux's family. They tell KLFY she was hurt, stabbed and cut, but is expected to recover. They want to let Acadiana know she's been found and thank the community for the help. . .

I guess that we will soon find out whether the relative had a concealed handgun permit because if he didn't police will have to press charges against him.

More on the dramatic events is available here from the UK Daily Mail:

'We kicked doors down. It was like a movie unfolding,' Miss Arceneaux's brother, Ryan, told the Advertiser. 'If we would have waited, she would have been dead.'Ryan was part of a search party made up of family and friends who were helping police try to find Miss Arceneaux after Thomas, the father of her two-year-old son, grabbed her on Wednesday evening. . . . Kaylyn Alfred, another of the victim's brothers, said they heard screams for help as they entered the desolate building. As the search party confronted Thomas, who was the subject of a restraining order, he allegedly began to harm Miss Arceneaux.In the tussle that followed Thomas was shot and Marcus Arceneaux was able to grab his niece and carry her to safety. 'She’s shook up, she’s sliced up, but she’s alright, Ryan said. His sister was believed to have been stabbed but is recovering in hospital and has been reunited with her son. Captain Kip Justice of the Lafayette Parish Police Department confirmed that 29-year-old Thomas died as a result of injuries received in the confrontation. . . .

Apparently, Bethany Arceneaux had a protective order against her ex-boyfriend and he had already violated the order at least once, but it obviously didn't do her much good.  From USA Today:

Arceneaux had a protective order issued June 17 against Thomas, court records show. Thomas was arrested Aug. 8 for violating the order and also was charged with aggravated assault and aggravated flight from an officer then. "He keeps threatening to kill us," Arceneaux wrote in her June 15 complaint to police that resulted in the protective order. "He put a knife to my neck countless times," choked her, dragged her by the hair and held herself and her son hostage. . . .

This might be one of those rare cases where a gun was used to save a life and it has gotten some news coverage in such venues as ABC News, NBC News, New York Daily News, and CNN.