Manhunt Underway For Gunman Who Shot Female Abbeville Officer

Abbeville, LA – A female Abbeville police officer was shot multiple times during a traffic stop on Wednesday night.

Police are still searching for the gunman. Please help share his picture on social media so he has nowhere to hide.

The incident occurred in the 600-block of North Gertrude Street just before 8 p.m. on April 3, Abbeville City Councilman Francis Touchet Jr. told The Acadiana Advocate.

After receiving reports of a disturbance, the unnamed female officer stopped a vehicle on nearby Alley Street.

The gunman, described as a black male wearing black clothing, exited the suspect vehicle and took off on foot, Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza told KLFY.

The officer pursued the suspect and he shot the officer twice as she chased him to North Gertrude Street, before he fled the scene.

The suspect remains on the run, and should be considered armed and dangerous, Touchet told The Acadiana Advocate.

The officer was airlifted from the scene to a hospital in Lafayette with two gunshot wounds to her shoulder and a collapsed lung, KLFY reported.

She was listed in stable condition as of 9:20 p.m., Touchet said.

The Louisiana State Police’s Air Support Unit, the U.S. Marshals Office, and the Vermillion Parish Sheriff’s Office assisted Abbeville police in the massive manhunt for the armed attacker on Wednesday night, KLFY reported.

K9s were brought in to search the area, and officers had their weapons drawn on a North Gertrude home at one point, witnesses told KATC.

Residents were told to stay off of roadways and to remain inside their locked homes while the search continued into the night, KLFY reported.

The suspect was identified as Nahshon Ishmael Brooks. Anybody who sees him is asked to keep their distance and call 911 immediately.

“Keep yourself and your family safe,” Touchet urged, according to The Acadiana Advocate.

The Louisiana State Police will lead the shooting investigation.

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