A suspect was arrested, police said.
A Tulane police officer was shot and killed in front of a high school basketball game on Friday night, the New Orleans Police Department announced.
At around 6:15 pm, a person tried to enter the George Washington Carver High School gym, where the game was taking place, and was refused by one of the team members, New Orleans police told reporters on Friday.
“The officer heard the disturbance and tried to intervene,” said NOPD superintendent Shaun Ferguson. “As a result of the intervention and attempt to escort this individual out of school, he pulled out his gun and fired a shot that hit the officer in the chest.”
The shooting took place outside the gym, said Ferguson.
At 6:38 pm, NOPD wrote on Twitter that they were on their way to the scene after learning that “a police officer from an outside agency was shot”.
When they arrived at the school, the police found the policeman suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, the NOPD said in a statement.
The officer, who was also a reserve officer at the City Court Constable, was taken to the University Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, Ferguson told reporters.
A suspect was immediately arrested and arrested, according to a police statement.
“We have an individual in detention right now, who we believe is responsible for this act,” said Ferguson. “Again, this is a very fluid situation. Our homicide division will be the lead in this investigation, while our force investigation team will assist in this process.”
Ferguson said the name of the deceased officer cannot yet be released, as the incident is still under investigation. NOPD said in its statement that it will release its name after the completion of an autopsy and notification to the family.
Orleans parish sheriff Marlin Gusman reacted to the news on Twitter Friday night.
“The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office regrets the loss of the police chief killed tonight in the line of duty. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the 2nd City Court at this difficult time,” he wrote.