Two Sheriff’s deputies have been shot and killed in St. John the Baptist parish in Louisiana after an early morning incident described by witnesses as an “ambush.”

The two Sheriff’s deputies shot in the parish, which is located west of New Orleans, have not yet been identified after the 5:30 am shooting that occurred in a trailer. The officers were following up on an incident in which a traffic cop was shot multiple times near a Valero facility.

Responding to a report from residents of a “speeding” vehicle at the Riverview trailer park that matched the one spotted on the scene of the earlier shooting, the officers were inside a trailer interviewing an individual sitting under blankets.

According to Fox News, a second person “exited the trailer with an assault weapon and ‘ambushed’ [the officers] with an assault weapon.” Louisiana State Police have since taken over the investigation after the deaths of the two Sheriff’s deputies, and State Trooper Evan Hallel describes the current investigation:

“Air support and local law enforcement combined with us… We got feet on the ground and people in the woods. We’re trying to gather all the information that we could at this time.”

One other officer shot on the scene underwent surgery to treat the injuries sustained in the trailer park ambush, and a further two have been hospitalized after the shooting. Five people have been taken into custody in connection with the shooting deaths of the two Louisiana Sheriff’s deputies, and a local school has been closed for the day, though police say there is no threat to public safety.

2 Louisiana Sheriff’s Deputies Shot To Death In Trailer Park ‘Ambush’ is a post from: The Inquisitr