Harlan Kirgan
Several Eunice Police officers were involved in a shooting at the intersection of Park Avenue and 9th Street that left a man wounded.
The shooting occurred about noon Thursday in the residential area after a report of a hostage situation, Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot said.
Fontenot said there was a man and a woman in a silver car when the shooting occurred. Neither the man nor the woman have been identified.
The woman escaped injury and was at the Eunice Police Department, he said.
The wounded man could be heard talking to police before an ambulance arrived to take him to the hospital.
The exact nature of the situation was not available, but Fontenot said the wounded man had brandished a weapon.
More than one officer was involved in the shooting, he said. The officers have not been identified.
There were several shell casings on the street.
Fontenot said since the shooting involved police the State Police would be taking over the investigation. A State Police trooper arrived at the scene at about 1:30 p.m.
State Police detectives would be coming from across the state to investigate the shooting, he said.
There was a lockdown at Eunice Elementary and Eunice Junior High School, but both lifted the lockdowns within an hour of the incident.
The shooting occurred about a block from the schools.
State Police issued the following update to the report.
On Thursday, November 30, 2017, the Eunice Police Department requested Detectives with the Louisiana State Police Criminal Investigations Division investigate a shooting involving officers with their agency. The preliminary investigation revealed that at approximately 12:02 PM, officers responded to a residence near South 9th St. & W. Park Ave. in Eunice in reference to a domestic dispute.
Shortly after the officers arrived in the area, a traffic stop was initiated on a vehicle with the suspect inside. At some point during the traffic stop, the suspect brandished a firearm. The suspect was shot by at least one police officer and was transported to the hospital where he is being treated.
The investigation is ongoing and there is no more information available at this time.