Deputy Constable, landlord shot while serving eviction in New Orleans East

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A suspect is in custody after detectives say he shot a property manager and an officer in New Orleans East Wednesday morning. Detectives say after the shooting, the suspect remained at large for several hours but was arrested after a SWAT roll in Mid-City.

According to the NOPD, the shooting happened at an apartment complex near the 7800 block of Coronet Ct., located in the West Lake Forest area around 10 a.m. We’re told the property manager was accompanied by Deputy Constable, serving an eviction for non-payment of 10 months of rent (about $2,200).

It was then that detectives say an unidentified gunman shot the manager in the chest and the officer in the back, then ran away. It is unclear if the shooter was the tenant of the apartment.

Both victims were rushed to area hospitals where they have since been listed in stable condition. The officer was later identified as 53-year-old Warren Smith.

We’re told the gunman barricaded himself in a home in the 3200 block of Iberville Street — about six miles from the apartment complex. Around 2:30 p.m., a city spokesperson confirmed the suspect was taken into custody.

Earlier in the day, our Kenny Lopez spoke with District E Councilmember Oliver Thomas, who was on the active scene as police searched for the suspect.

Thomas said he was fed up and shared his frustration with the violence in New Orleans East. “You can’t even issue an eviction notice today to be safe and be safe, you can’t even go to the gas station, grandmothers, mothers, kids it seems like every day in this city the people who intend to do harm with us have committed some type of war against the citizens in this city.”

He shared the recent experience he had of his family member being a victim of a violent crime in the city. “My family have been victims of violence, people that we know that are close to us. Everybody’s fed up. We need to be as aggressive as getting the shooters, the killers, the carjackers, and the robbers off the street as they are at harming us,” said Thomas.