Shreveport Police have identified the police officer shot and killed on Wednesday night in Shreveport.
In a press conference Thursday morning, Shreveport Police Chief Ben Raymond identified the officer as Chateri Payne. Payne was hired by the department in July 2018 and graduated from the police academy in November 2018.
The shooting occurred around 8:30 pm on Wednesday outside of a residence in Shreveport. Police say they do not know if Payne lived at the residence. A child was located at the residence, but police are unsure if the child belonged to Payne.
Police say that they have not yet identified the person responsible for the fatal shooting, but are working to gather details that will hopefully lead to an arrest of a suspect or suspects.
Chief Raymond says that the suspect(s) should be considered “at large” at this time.
Police say it was unclear if the incident was domestic in nature. One person was questioned after the shooting as a witness but they were not detained.
Raymond says that Payne received multiple gunshot wounds during the shooting but that he could not say where exactly she had been struck. Early reports indicated that she was struck in the head.
Payne was taken to Oschner LSU Health Hospital where she later died as a result of those injuries.
Raymond says that the Shreveport Police Department will continue to investigate the case aggressively until they reach closure. Several law enforcement agencies in North Louisiana have reached out to the department to offer assistance in finding the person(s) responsible, according to Chief Raymond.
Photos on Payne’s personal Facebook page show her wearing Ragin Cajun gear and standing in front of Cypress Lake. KATC reached out to UL Lafayette to see if Payne was ever a student at the university. A spokesman for the university says that Payne attended for one semester during 2014.
