HARVEY, La. – A pedestrian walking down a busy commercial strip of a New Orleans suburb in the middle of the afternoon shot a sheriff’s deputy multiple times, killing him, after being stopped by the officer Wednesday, an official said.
Col. John Fortunato, a Jefferson Parish sheriff’s spokesman, identified the officer as David F. Michel (mih-SHELL) Jr., 51.
Fortunato said one suspect was in custody and hospitalized at University Medical Center in New Orleans for minor injuries believed to have been suffered in a struggle with Michel.
Investigators were still gathering details, Fortunato said, making a public plea for anyone who saw the shooting to come forward. He said, based on witness accounts so far, that Michel approached a pedestrian, a struggle followed, the suspect pulled a gun from his waistband and shot several times, fatally wounding Michel.
“The suspect pulled the weapon and fired several shots, including when the officer was down,” Fortunato said.