Two New Orleans Police Department officers were shot at Friday afternoon while on routine patrol in the French Quarter, NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said. One officer was hit in the cheek and was seriously wounded. The officers were ambushed, Ferguson said, around 4:30 pm local time by a pedicab passenger who stood up in the pedicab and shot at least five rounds into the officers’ stopped patrol car.
According to WVUE, the local Fox affiliate:
One officer was shot in the left cheek and the bullet is now lodged inside of his skull. He is in serious, but stable condition. The second officer received ‘minor abrasions’ to his arm, according to Ferguson.
Both injured officers were then taken to the hospital by other NOPD officers.
The suspect was apprehended near the intersection of St. Peter and Decatur Street. Witnesses in the area helped identify and point out the suspect.
NOPD says no firearms were fired toward the suspect in the incident.
A witness at a nearby shop said they heard several loud “popping noises” outside of a nearby window and saw two people flee from the scene.
A retired Army veteran helped treat the injured officer before the officer was taken to the hospital.
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