The suspect injured in a shooting Thursday afternoon that left a Denham Springs police officer in critical condition died of his injuries Thursday evening, according to the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies identified the suspect as 30-year-old Justin Roberts of Denham Springs.
The shooting happened before 4:30 p.m. at the Spring Park Plaza, which includes a Petco and an Office Depot, among other stores. The center is just off I-12 and in one of the busiest parts of Denham Springs.
Denham Springs police Chief Roger Walker said at a press conference following the shooting that officers initially were dispatched to the center after receiving reports of an argument in the Petco parking lot.
Once officers arrived, Walker said, Roberts began to fire on them, striking one multiple times. A video circulating on social media from the moments following the shooting shows three officers, one in plain clothing, huddled over the wounded officer and performing chest compressions on him next to a Denham Springs police vehicle.
Roberts fled the scene in a vehicle but was stopped a short time later by Livingston Parish Sheriff’s deputies, who shot and injured him. Both the officer and Roberts were taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Lori Steele said after the press conference that the incident officers responded to was an argument between Roberts and a woman.
“We just ask that you say prayers for this Denham Springs police officer, and for everybody involved,” said Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard. “I know there’s a lot of questions. Everybody’s got questions about this.”
Before Ard’s press conference at the scene, a large group of law enforcement agents huddled together in prayer, some crying and raising their hands in the air.
District 4 Councilman John Wascom, who represents the area of Denham Springs where the shooting took place, said before a scheduled Livingston Parish Council meeting that he had just heard about the shooting. Right before the invocation, he requested the person reading it keep the officer in her prayers. She asked God to “lift up the officer” and his family.
The shooting drew a massive police presence, including the sheriff’s office, Denham Springs Police, Louisiana State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, among others.
Ard said deputies were still investigating the scene as of 8 p.m., in part due to thunderstorms passing through the area.
Staff writer Jackie DeRobertis contributed to this report.
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