Gunfire on State Street near Prytania, cops say officer fired gun

Reports started coming in early this morning of gunfire in Uptown New Orleans.

It happened around 5:30 a.m. on State Street near Prytania.

An officer on the scene radioed into headquarters, "Shots fired! Shots Fired!"

That was around 6:15am.

"The NOPD is responding to a report of an officer in need of assistance in the 1200 block of State Street," Senior Public Information Officer Aaron Looney said in an email. "Initial reports show an officer discharged their service weapon during investigation of a call for service."

It started as a call of a home burglary, with a burglar taking several guns.

According to NOPD officials, the suspect took off running when he saw responding officers. At some point during the chase, an officer fired his gun at the suspect, hitting him in the abdomen.

Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick says this was the latest in a string of burglaries in that neighborhood. Officers, she said, were prepared to respond this time.

"The officer did shoot his weapon at the suspect. The suspect was hit. The suspect has been transported and is presently being operated on," Kirkpatrick said. "We have recovered four shotguns from that house that had been burgled."

NOPD officials say doorbell camera video from other homes tie this suspect to the other burglary cases in the neighborhood. Those cases also remain under investigation.