Suspect in Baton Rouge shootout dies

Two Louisiana cops were injured early Saturday during a vehicle chase and shootout with a suspect, police said.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said the officers’ injuries didn’t appear to be life-threatening.

Two Baton Rouge police officers who were shot during a confrontation with a suspect are in stable condition at an area hospital.

The officers responded to a call about 5:30 a.m.to a report of someone damaging property, which Moore described as a domestic disturbance reported by a woman who knew the suspect. When the officer arrived at the scene, he and Smith got into a verbal exchange before Smith fled the scene in a 2013 Dodge Avenger.

“Clearly the suspect initiated the firing”, Moore said, calling the attack an “ambush” and adding that an investigation will “look at everything” to make an official determination. Smith then got out of the vehicle and shot at the officers using a large caliber semi-automatic assault rifle.

Both officers are said to be in stable condition at a local hospital.

The shooter is now on probation for a charge of cruelty to a juvenile that occurred in 2014, Moore said. Moore says a bullet grazed the head of one officer; the other officer was hit in the stomach but protected by his bulletproof vest.

Smith suffered more serious injuries and was taken to the hospital and immediately brought into surgery. Both are expected to survive.

According to District Attorney Hillar Moore, the officer was wearing a bullet proof vest but was hit on the side where the vest comes together, traveled down and entered his body. It remains unclear where he obtained the gun police said he used to fire at the policemen.

Up to 50 shots were fired between the two officers and the suspect.

Gina Chambers of Baton Rouge told News Two that Smith, the son of her godmother, was hospitalized in Shreveport previous year after a suicide attempt. Police units lined the area where the shooting took place, and dozens of markers were placed to flag the location of shell casings and other evidence. She said he has a history of mental illness and had attempted suicide previously, but she had not noticed any unusual behavior recently.

During the chase, a second officer arrived at the scene. He says all he heard was “sirens, gunshots and tires squealing”. The department’s release did not indicate the condition of the suspect.

This story corrects the relationship between Chambers and Smith in first entry.