A New Orleans police officer was shot in the face Friday afternoon during a routine patrol in what authorities have called an ambush.
“Unfortunately, we are out here as a result of an officer-involved shooting in which two of our officers were ambushed,” New Orleans Police Department Chief Shaun Ferguson said. “Our officers were on routine patrol when they were fired upon.”
According to Ferguson, a man in a pedicab opened fire on the officers while they were on patrol in the city’s French Quarter. One officer was shot in the face and has a bullet lodged in his skull below his left eye. Another officer received “minor abrasions” on his arm. The shooter then fled the scene.
Ferguson said that the officer was in “serious but stable” condition.
“Other, additional responding officers located the perpetrator,” Ferguson said. “He was arrested without incident. He appeared to be under some sort of medical condition. We’re not sure what it is at the time, but we took the necessary precautions in transporting him to the hospital.”
Ferguson emphasized that the suspect was taken to the hospital due to concerns regarding his mental state, saying that the suspect was not harmed and that police did not use their weapons when he was apprehended.
“He is not, again, he is not physically harmed at all. Our officers did not discharge any weapons, they did not fire any of their firearms,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson also thanked a retired Army officer who provided medical assistance to the police officer after the shooting. “She was in the medical field in the military. We want to commend her and thank her,” he said.
