APSO releases statement on officer involved shooting

On May 28, 2021, at approximately 5:56 pm, the Avoyelles 911 Communication Center received a 911 call reporting a disturbance involving an armed subject shooting at 3058 Hwy 114, Hessmer, LA. The Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office (APSO) Patrol responded to the call. Shortly thereafter, APSO Deputies were involved in an Officer Involved Shooting (OIS). At the request of Sheriff David L. Dauzat, the Louisiana State Police (LSP) Bureau of Investigations was called to investigate the OIS. APSO Detectives and Louisiana State Police (LSP) Detectives subsequently responded to the scene of the OIS.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office (APSO) responded to a disturbance involving an armed subject shooting at 3058 Hwy 114, Hessmer, LA. Moments later, the shooter, later identified as 70-year-old Ovide Moras, fled the scene to his residence at 3626 Hwy 114, Hessmer, LA where APSO Patrol Deputies made contact with the armed man. The armed man fired upon the Deputies resulting in an exchange of gunfire. Moras was transported by Acadian Ambulance Service to Rapides Regional Medical Center and treated for gunshot wounds. An APSO Patrol vehicle was struck by debris and/or bullet fragments from the shooter’s gunfire, but no Deputies were hit or injured. No arrests have been made at this time.

Investigations by The Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations and the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit are ongoing. LSP will be the lead investigating agency investigating the OIS; APSO will be investigating the offenses committed before and leading up to the OIS.