Suspect shot first in battle injuring suspect, officers

Moore III said two Baton Rouge police officers are “lucky to be alive” after they were a suspect opened fire after a vehicle chase during a report of damaged property.

Police say Smith led them on a roughly 2 mile chase after 5:30 a.m. Saturday before firing at them with a rifle.

The suspect got out the vehicle with a “long gun” and fired at the officers, who were struck. Police officers who were shot early Saturday during a confrontation with a suspect were responding to a call about someone damaging property.

Two officers were wounded and a suspect was killed Saturday night in a shootout in a Baton Rouge, La. neighborhood, according to ABC affiliate WBRZ.

One policeman’s head was grazed by a bullet, Moore said Saturday, and his partner was injured when another bullet passed through the stitching on the side of his vest. Moore described the rifle as a semiautomatic, large caliber weapon.

The investigation is ongoing and no official determination has been made, but Moore likened Smith’s actions to an “ambush”. Dozens of evidence markers were on the ground at the house where the chase ended, indicating possible bullet casings.

Gina Chambers, who said she is Smith’s godsister, said family members had tried to get him treatment in Baton Rouge after he moved back in December. When the officers arrived at the scene, the suspect, Calvin Smith, fled in a vehicle. It remains unclear where he obtained the gun police said he used to fire at the policemen.

Friends of Smith told The Advocate on Saturday that the suspect had a history of mental illness and had previously attempted suicide and was admitted for treatment while living in Shreveport. “They were both within one inch of their lives”.

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden visited the hospital Saturday where the officers were taken and said the shooting should be a wake-up call for the Baton Rouge community about mental health issues. He says all he heard was “sirens, gunshots and tires squealing”. As is standard procedure after any police shooting, both officers have been placed on paid leave.

Police remained at the scene of the shooting for almost five hours, eventually towing away two police cruisers, including one with at least three bullet holes.