By Bill Fuller
Associated Press
MONROE, La. — Two northeast Louisiana sheriff’s deputies were in stable condition Thursday after being shot while serving arrest warrants, and a suspect was arrested after being flushed out of a house with tear gas, the sheriff said.
Ouachita Parish Sheriff Jay Russell said it happened when the deputies went to a home in south Monroe just after 6 a.m. to serve eight warrants ranging from burglary to resisting arrest on Rickie Wade Jr., 28.
“One deputy entered the home and found Wade in a back room,” Russell said. The other was outside covering a window, he said.
“The deputy outside heard a scuffle and then a gunshot,” the sheriff said. “When he entered the house, he was shot.”
My Mosby/Obama losses joy is gone. 2 Deputies serving warrants in Monroe La shot. Thug in custody.Condtions unknown. pic.twitter.com/A9xeEeSiWr
— I love my U.S.A (@WEdwarda) June 23, 2016
Russell did not identify the two officers, only saying one was 30-year veteran and the other deputy had 25 years on the force.
Louisiana State Police and Monroe police, along with other sheriff’s deputies searched the area for the suspect.
Russell said different SWAT team members found Wade hiding in a house several blocks away. He said officers used tear gas in an attempt to flush him out. Wade then climbed into the attic and Russell said the SWAT team used more gas. Eventually, the sheriff said, Wade fell out of the attic and was taken into custody without further incident.
Russell said a .45-caliber handgun was also recovered from the home.
Wade was taken to the Ouachita Parish Jail.
Russell said one deputy was taken by helicopter to University Medical Center in Shreveport and the other is being treated at a Monroe hospital.
Thursday morning’s shooting was the second involving deputies in Louisiana in as many days. On Wednesday, a sheriff’s deputy across the state in Jefferson Parish was shot and killed by a 19-year-old suspect.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press