Rifle Threat at Baton Rouge Apartment Complex Ends With Police Shooting; Southern University Says Campus Was Not Threatened
A rifle threat at a Baton Rouge apartment complex ended with police shooting the armed man Sunday evening. No Southern University students were involved, and officials said there was no threat to the campus.
BATON ROUGE, La. — A report of an armed man threatening people at a Baton Rouge apartment complex ended with police gunfire Sunday evening, prompting a brief safety concern because the complex sits directly across from Southern University’s Baton Rouge campus.
Baton Rouge police officers were dispatched to Jaguar Plaza on Harding Boulevard shortly before 6 p.m. after authorities received reports that a man was threatening people while holding a rifle. According to Police Chief T.J. Morse, the situation escalated after officers arrived and the man threatened them with the weapon. An officer then shot him.
The man was taken to a hospital with injuries that preliminary information indicated were not life-threatening. Authorities had not publicly identified him or provided details about the nature of his injuries as of the latest available reports.
The location of the incident drew particular attention because Jaguar Plaza is across Harding Boulevard from Southern University. The university issued a statement about an hour after the shooting, saying the situation was under control.
“There is no known threat to the Southern University campus,” the university said, adding that no Southern University students were involved in the incident.
That distinction was significant for students, employees and families who may have initially been concerned that an armed confrontation near the university had affected campus operations.
The circumstances that led to the original confrontation—including what allegedly prompted the man to threaten people and what happened immediately before officers opened fire—had not been fully released.
The incident remains under investigation, and additional information is expected as authorities establish the sequence of events and determine the circumstances surrounding the police shooting.
For now, authorities have characterized the immediate danger as contained, while the injured man remains at the center of an investigation that began with reports of threats involving a rifle at a residential complex near one of Baton Rouge’s major educational institutions.
