(Metro Creative Services)

Six Lake Charles Police officers have been placed on administrative leave following an officer-involved shooting near the intersection of 12th Street and 7th Avenue Thursday morning.

At about 7:40 a.m., LCPD received a 911 call from a motorist who described a man pointing a gun at traffic, Chief Shawn Caldwell said during a Thursday afternoon news conference.

Immediately upon arrival, an officer exited her vehicle to confront the armed man, who in turn “shot at her several times and took off running.” He then began to shoot at a second officer who had arrived at the scene.

The armed man then hid in a residential neighborhood, Caldwell said. Several officers responded and established a containment area in the neighborhood after a neighbor reported they believed the suspect had hidden in a shed.

“We were formulating the plan on how to get him out of the shed, and at some point, he came out of hiding. We gave chase,” Caldwell said.

The armed man ran towards and began shooting at LCPD’s armored vehicles. LCPD returned fire and the armed man sustained fatal injuries.

“We notified the State Police immediately after that and have turned the investigation over” to them.

The Louisiana State Police Criminal Investigation Division took over the investigation, said LSP Trooper Matt Gaspard in a release.

The investigation is still in the “very early stages,” and Caldwell said he has “every confidence” in the State Police.

“Our officers were fired upon three separate times by this assailant, and this was a residential neighborhood. So, we ask the public to be patient with us until we can get all the details of this investigation, and we are cooperating fully with the state police in their investigation,” he said.

The incident involved multiple officers. All officers who fired at the armed man have been placed on administrative leave. They will remain on leave until the internal affairs investigation concludes, he said.

No officers were injured.

Anyone with information and/or pictures and video is urged to share that information with LSP detectives by visiting lsp.org and clicking on Report Suspicious or Criminal Activity, or calling the LSP Fusion Center Hotline at 1-800-434-8007.