Officer shot to death while intervening in altercation at New Orleans school basketball game
A New Orleans high school basketball game turned into a nightmare Friday after a man shot and killed a police officer near the gymnasium, authorities said.
The suspect, who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, had gotten into an altercation with a staff member who refused to let him into the game at George Washington Carver High School, according to police. An officer who was working security at the school intervened and tried to escort the suspect out of the building — only to be killed in the line of duty.
The assailant pulled out a gun and shot the officer in the chest, police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson told reporters at a news conference. The victim, whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at a hospital later that night.
Most players and fans did not immediately realize what was going on as two loud bangs were heard during the final seconds of the first quarter. A video shared by local news outlet WGNO shows people scrambling to find out what happened after the school went into a lockdown.
The game was canceled.
Police said the victim was a Tulane University police officer and a deputy constable with the Second City Court.
“The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office mourns the loss of the deputy constable killed tonight in the line of duty,” Sheriff Marlin Gusman said in a tweet. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the 2nd City Court Constable at this difficult time.”
School officials also issued a statement praising the slain officer.
“He was a fixture at Carver sporting events and parades and we honor his memory,” they said, adding that “violence of any sort is intolerable.”
The officer’s name will be released after his family is notified, Ferguson said. The suspect’s identity was also being withheld as police worked to file charges against him.
The New Orleans Police Department’s homicide division is leading the investigation.
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