Fleeing driver nearly hits officer

LC police fire at vehicle

Police fired at least one shot at a local man who hit a security guard with his car and later tried to strike an officer while fleeing out of a parking lot, Deputy Chief Mark Kraus said Tuesday.

The driver, identified by state police as Caleb Oquinn, 27, wasn’t hit during the shooting and was captured after a foot pursuit.

According to initial reports received by Kraus, police first responded to a man threatening suicide at about noon at the Southwest Louisiana Center for Health Services on Opelousas Street. They found Oquinn inside his car and tried talking to him.

When police tried to get Oquinn out of the car, he fled, striking a female security guard. He then tried to hit a police officer, after which at least one shot was fired into the car, Kraus said.

Oquinn flipped the vehicle about half a block south and fled on foot. He was found about two hours later in a backyard shed on Clarinda Street and was taken to a local hospital before being released.

The security guard wasn’t hurt during the incident, Kraus said.

J.D. Clifton Elementary School was locked down during the incident. Kraus said the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit helped police find Oquinn.

Kraus said state police are conducting a “comprehensive investigation.” Charges against Oquinn are pending.

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