Man breaks into a store, brandishes a knife, and is fatally shot by New Orleans police officer
New Orleans Times-Picayune
A Marrero man who allegedly threatened a Gretna police officer with a knife inside a West Bank sporting goods store Saturday night was shot by the officer and died at a local hospital.
The suspect was identified by the Jefferson Parish coroner’s office as 21-year-old Brandon Francois. An autopsy is pending, a coroner’s office spokesman said.
The shooting occurred Saturday around 9:45 p.m. at the Academy Sports & Outdoors store in the Westside Shopping Center in Gretna, said Gretna Deputy Chief Charles Whitmer.
Francois allegedly approached the door as the manager was letting employees out for the night and asked the manager if the store was taking applications for employment.
The manager told Francois the store did not take paper applications but that he could apply during store hours at a computer kiosk inside, Whitmer said.
During the conversation, the manager let the door open a bit wider, and Francois pushed his way inside the store and began running toward the firearms section, Whitmer said.
The manager and an employee both called 911, and an officer working a detail at the shopping center responded within seconds.
The officer entered the store and searched for the suspect, Whitmer said, at which time Francois approached the officer with a knife in his hand.
The police officer advised the suspect to put down the knife, but he continued to advance toward the officer in a threatening manner, Whitmer said.
The officer fired one round, striking Francois in the chest, Whitmer said.
The suspect was treated at the scene and transferred to the Interim LSU Public Hospital. He died at the hospital, police said.
Francois apparently took the knife off a shelf in the store, Whitmer said.
Copyright 2009 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company