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SEARCHA deputy was shot and wounded and the suspect fatally shot during an exchange of gunfire that kicked off an hourslong standoff in Vidalia, LA Thursday, say authorities.
According to the Concordia Parish (LA) Sheriff's Office, Dep. Walter Mackel was shot July 25 at an apartment complex in Vidalia.
Photo: Concordia Parish Sheriff's Office/Facebook
A deputy was shot and wounded and the suspect fatally shot during an exchange of gunfire that kicked off an hourslong standoff in Vidalia, LA Thursday, say authorities.
According to the Concordia Parish (La) Sheriff's Office, the standoff started after the suspect—later identified as Kaleb Melton, 21—shot Deputy Walter J. Mackel at an apartment complex in Vidalia earlier Thursday. They were alerted at noon that the deputy had been shot, reports KNOE .
Authorities said they were working an armed robbery investigation from earlier in the morning at the Vidalia Meadows Apartments. Deputy Mackel knocked on one of the apartment doors for questioning. During the course of the following interaction, gunfire was exchanged. As a result, Melton and a deputy were both shot.
A SWAT team was brought in and a robot was used to find him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputy Mackel was airlfted to a hospital in Mississippi and was listed in stable condition.
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