A law enforcement officer armed with a rifle covers the entrance to Amelia's Friendship Alley on Wednesday afternoon. Deputies and at least one Morgan City police officer responded to a report of shots fired.
Bill Decker/The Daily Review
(Updated) Detectives investigate Wednesday firearm discharge in Amelia
Deputies, some armed with assault-style rifles, blocked Amelia’s Friendship Alley at Lake Palourde Road on Wednesday afternoon after receiving reports of shots being fired.
Sheriff’s office detectives are investigating the incident as an illegal discharge of a firearm.
There were no reports of injuries after the St. Mary Sheriff’s Office received the call, Detective Lt. Traci Landry said. Two people near the Lake Palourde Road entrance to the alley said they heard three shots.
The report came in at 1:39 p.m., Landry said. A call went out saying deputies at the scene could leave about 3:30 p.m.
St. Mary Parish public school officials took “precautionary” measures at J.S. Aucoin Elementary School in Amelia after the sheriff’s office received reports of possible gunshots on Friendship Alley, Schools Superintendent Leonard Armato said.
Landry said the school wasn’t placed on lockdown, but that precautionary measures were taken to ensure the safety of students and faculty.
Officials were able to dismiss school, but didn’t allow any school buses to drop off students in the immediate area where gunshots had been reported until the area was deemed safe, Armato said.
“The sheriff’s department and our resource officers work together to do a tremendous job and make sure our kids and our faculty are safe at all times,” Armato said.