JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies are trying to determine whether a suspect was killed by them or took his own life during a confrontation Saturday night in Metairie. JPSO said the man pulled a gun on them before he was shot.
Others in the apartment complex witnessed the shooting. One mother said she was home with her baby.
"I was putting my son to sleep and I just heard banging on the neighbor's door," said Gigi Aguilar who lives near the man who died.
Aguilar was home with her one-year-old baby Saturday night when she said a bullet left holes through her apartment. Next door, JPSO said a man died after he pointed a gun at deputies.
"I just heard cops saying 'open the door' and I peeked through the window and I see three cops pointing at his door," Aguilar said.
According to JPSO, deputies were responding to a disturbance call around 7 p.m. Saturday at an apartment complex on Park Manor Drive in Metairie. According to JPSO, deputies tried to speak to the suspect who went inside an apartment.
"At one point the suspect exited the apartment, pointed a firearm at a deputy, the deputy fired at the suspect at least once," said Captain Jason Rivarde with JPSO.
JPSO said the suspect went back inside and the Crisis Management Unit was activated and secured the scene. Meanwhile, Aguilar said she was inside her apartment.
"I got so scared. I had my son with me in my arms so we went to go hide in the tub because we thought maybe we could get shot," she said.
JPSO said the suspect exited the apartment and pointed a firearm at deputies again. At least one deputy fired at him.
"My husband was outside trying to tell them to take me out of here and they took out the wrong family before me and started shooting again. That’s when I realized they shot through my apartment and it went through the staircase to the kitchen so if I was downstairs, I could have got killed," Aguilar said.
Around 10:30 p.m., JPSO said the Crisis Management Unit breached the door, trying to negotiate with the suspect.
"Once the deputies were inside the apartment, they found the suspect inside deceased from at least one gunshot wound," Rivarde said.
At one point, Aguilar said deputies did escort her safely from her apartment.
"We were really so close to getting hurt," she said.
According to JPSO, investigators are unsure if the man was shot by deputies or if it was self-inflicted.
The investigation is still in its early stages and is ongoing.
The suspect's identity has not been released.
JPSO said investigators are still looking into what caused the original disturbance call.
