Two New Orleans Police officers were ambushed in the city's French Quarter neighborhood on Friday, October 30, by a pedicab passenger who was able to hit one of the officers in the face.
The policemen were on vehicle patrol around 4:30 P.M. when the suspect opened fire at them, hitting one of the police officers in the face, according to police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.
According to law enforcement sources, the alleged suspect has been identified as 45-year-old Donnell Linwood Hansel.
Ferguson said that "Two of our officers were ambushed at the intersection of Royal and St. Philip Street," reported CBS58.
Footage displayed a crime scene tape around a police SUV with its front doors open. It was unknown how many gunshots were fired.
Ferguson stated that one officer was hit below the eye on the left cheek. A bullet was wedged in his skull, reported ABC News.
The police took the alleged gunman into custody and located the weapon they regarded was used during the incident.
The incident comes as revelers began arriving to spend their Halloween weekend in the city.
The officer wounded was in his patrol vehicle near St. Philip and Royal streets, reported Nola.
The officer with a lodged bullet in the skull was listed in serious but stable condition on Friday. The other officer experienced minor abrasions to his arm. The pair was sent to a local hospital.
The officer with the wedged bullet has been with the police department for four years. The other officer with minor abrasions has been working for the department for 16 years.
According to Ferguson, the first officer was able to walk to an area hospital, notwithstanding the severity of his injury. The second officer was injured by shards of glass when the cruiser's window was shattered by a bullet.
Ferguson told reporters that it was a dark day for them as two of their officers were ambushed. He said they were merely crossing through intersections on the path to different directions.
NOPD officers coming to the rescue were able to chase down and arrest the suspect, who was transferred to the hospital by EMS.
The suspect was arrested near the intersection of Decatur and St. Peter Street. Witnesses in the area identified the suspect as Hansel.
With the influx of visitors and residents enjoying the culminating of the Halloween weekend, Ferguson expressed gratitude to the public for their help in tackling the ordeal.
At around 4:30 P.M., officers claimed that Hansel was donning a black motorcycle vest while riding in the back of a pedicab crossing Royal Street on St. Philip Street.
The pedicab crossed in front of a police cruiser rolling across the intersection on Royal when he fired shots many times at the marked SUV's windshield and began escaping.
Ferguson stated NOPD officers managed to apprehend Hansel without using their guns. Hansel was not harmed during his arrest but was hospitalized because police officers think there is something medically wrong with him.
