A man is dead after a Terrebonne Parish sheriff's deputy opened fire following a pursuit on Louisiana Highway 24 near Henderson Street in Houma on Thursday morning, according to Louisiana State Police. The shooting happened just before 11 a.m. near Terrebonne High School. A precautionary lockdown was issued at the campus, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
State police said the man died after the shooting that followed the pursuit, according to WDSU. The confrontation unfolded on LA 24 near Henderson Street, close to Terrebonne High School. No deputies were hurt in the incident.
The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office said the pursuit and shooting stemmed from a joint drug investigation, per the same Audacy report. The sheriff's office has since stepped back from public comment, turning the case over to state detectives rather than addressing specifics itself, according to Fox 8.
School Locked Down as Investigators Moved In
Terrebonne High School went into a school-wide lockdown out of an abundance of caution once the shooting was reported nearby, according to Houma Times. That outlet reported that no students were endangered during the incident.
Investigators were seen processing the scene along the highway Thursday as they worked to gather more information about what led to the gunfire, Fox 8 reported. The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office asked Louisiana State Police detectives to handle the investigation rather than conduct it in-house.
State Police Seek Tips as Case Remains Early
Louisiana State Police said the investigation remains in its early stages and that more details would be released once available, per WDSU. The agency is asking anyone with information, photos, or video of the incident to contact detectives or submit tips anonymously through its online reporting system or by calling the LSP Fusion Center Hotline at 1-800-434-8007, according to Houma Times.
The exact sequence of events during the pursuit has not been detailed publicly. It is not the first time Louisiana State Police has been called in to investigate a Terrebonne Parish deputy's use of force. In June 2022, state police investigated after a deputy shot 18-year-old Joshua Babin of Houma, who had approached a residence with a firearm and pointed it at the deputy, according to a statement from Louisiana State Police. Babin survived with non-life-threatening injuries, and the deputies involved in that case were uninjured, the agency said.
