St. Charles Parish deputy shot, school lockdowns lifted

A St. Charles Parish deputy that was directing traffic in the Paradis school zone was shot several times in an apparent ambush Thursday morning.

The man suspected of shooting the deputy is now in custody, and the deputy was rushed to University Hospital where he remains in stable condition.

The shooting occurred at the school crossing in Paradis shortly before 9 a.m. and led to the immediate lockdown of J.B. Martin Middle School, R.J. Vial Elementary School and Hahnville High School. Those lockdowns were lifted after the suspected shooter was arrested.

According to a Dollar General employee who witnessed the shooting, a man driving a silver truck pulled in to the Time Saver parking lot before firing several shots at the officer.

“The guy just opened fire and hit the deputy multiple times,” Capt. Pat Yoes, Sheriff’s Office spokesman said.

Denise Rocco, of Luling, said she was shopping in the Dollar General in Paradis when “I heard pops. I heard shots.”

Rocco said she, along with other store employees and customers, rushed outside the store when they witnessed sheriff’s deputies rush to a silver truck parked in the Time Saver parking lot near the school zone.

She saw a chaotic scene with people “ducking and dodging” as they tried to determine the source of the gun fire.

“I heard a woman screaming ‘an officer is bleeding,'” Rocco said as she saw deputies arrive at the scene. “They showed up and apprehended the man … yanked him out of his truck.”

Rocco pointed out a silver truck with a black passenger window parked in the Time Saver parking lot as the man’s vehicle.

Terene Brashears, of New Orleans, a Coca-Cola delivery man, also was in the Dollar General when he heard two rounds of pops, four to five per round and also ran outside the store.

Brashears also witnessed several deputies rushing to the silver truck and pull the driver out. They wrestled the man to the ground and landed in a ditch where they apprehended and cuffed him.

 

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