NEW ORLEANS — Police officers have been praised for taking decisive action in a critical time to save lives after a quadruple shooting in East Baton Rouge Parish on Monday.
Officers with the Zachary Police Department are being recognized for their potential life-saving efforts after a quadruple shooting in Baker on Monday afternoon, WBRZ reported on Tuesday.
It was in a usually quiet neighborhood park off of Burgess Drive in Baker where neighbors heard gunfire erupt during an argument between two groups.
"It was about fifteen shots, each gun,” one neighbor told WBRZ.
Three people, including an eight-year-old, were shot while sitting in a vehicle and quickly drove off. A fourth person was shot while walking down the street. That’s when Zachary Police were notified and sprang into action.
"We got a call in reference to three gunshot victims at McDonald's,” Officer Gavin Travis said.
Travis said he and a handful of other officers eventually found the three victims in the parking lot next to Lane Regional Medical Center.
"When I pulled up, Officer Travis had the young female out of the vehicle and was trying to determine where to go with her at that point. So they had another police unit that was in a better position. So we moved to that put her in the back of the car. I drove the unit around to the emergency room entrance,” Sgt. Tandem Wilbur said.
Meanwhile, Officer Michael Milligan was attending to the driver who was shot in the leg.
"I observed a male, got out of the car or assisted him out of the car. He was profusely bleeding. And I applied the tourniquet to him to prevent any more blood loss. And I stayed with him most of the time,” Milligan said.
Nearby, Officer Dalton Corban assisted the third victim in the car, while they all waited for medical help to arrive.
"In that case time is an essence, and we all reverted back to our training. I had a female in the front passenger seat, and she had a wound in her chest, in her side, and in her knee. So, I just applied pressure in the chest wound and the side wound,” Corban said.
For their quick thinking and deliberate actions, the officers received high praise from their supervisor and Police Chief David McDavid.
"Like I said these officers did an outstanding job. And I'd go to war with them any day,” Brian Morris said.
Police say there were also two other children in that car during the shooting but they did not get hurt.
So far, two people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. One suspect, 19-year-old Reginald Elroy Thomas Jr., is still on the loose. Police say Thomas should be considered armed and dangerous.
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