All of the officers have been identified. Killed in the shooting was Sargeant Rick Riggenbach of the Chitimacha Police Department. He’s worked in law enforcement for 15 years including time with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office. He was also a veteran of the United States Navy. Riggenbach leaves behind a wife and four children. He was 52 years old.
Two St. Mary Parish Deputies remain hospitalized including 23 year old Jason Javier who’s been with the department for two years.
24-year-old Matthew Strickland who rejoined the department this month after serving in the National Guard. Both deputies are expected to recover and are said to be in good spirits.
The suspected shooter is 48-year-old Wilbert Thibodeaux. He was arrested and is currently in police custody, according to Louisiana State Police spokesman Tpr. Stephen Hammons.
Hammons said the suspect has a gunshot wound around his torso. They are not sure if the wound was self-inflicted or from deputies. Thibodeaux was treated and released from a hospital.
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A press conference will be held Monday and the deputies’ names will be released.
State Fire Marshals Office extinguished a mobile home fire that authorities believe was started by Thibodeaux. Once the fire was extinguished, they found the body of a civilian, 78-year-old Eddie Lyons. State Police believe Lyons was shot before the fire.
Credit: Tommy Good
State police are investigating a shooting that involved 3 officers.
Troopers say, around 11:00 this morning, officers responded to a fire on Flatown Road in Charenton. Once on scene, they found the suspect armed with a gun. Troopers say the suspect shot three officers, killing one of them. State Police have confirmed the officer killed was part of the Chitimacha Police Department.
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One officer is in a Lafayette hospital and the other in New Orleans.
Family members tell us their loved one, Matthew Strickland with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, was shot in the incident. He was said to have been shot several times in the face/neck area. He is at a trauma center in New Orleans. His family says he just started last week at the Sheriff’s Office.
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Meanwhile, one witness tells us he saw the suspect walking down the street with a shotgun and a gas can this morning. When he questioned the man, he says, he refused to tell him why. Another witness tells us he set his neighbors trailer on fire.
Louisiana State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons said a Chitimacha tribal officer was pronounced dead at the scene of Saturday’s shootings near Charenton, while two St. Mary’s Parish sheriff’s deputies were critically wounded and taken to local hospitals.
The Louisiana State Police said the officers responded to a report of a house fire and when they arrived on the scene an armed suspect began firing at them.
Troopers said the two injured officers were taken to hospitals in New Orleans and Lafayette.
They are listed in critical condition.
KLFY in Lafayette reports a suspect is in custody.
Investigators have not released any names.
Two deputies from the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office are in critical condition, Hammons said. One has been airlifted to a hospital in New Orleans and the other has been taken to a hospital in Lafayette.
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