Sheriff: Off-duty officer shot 14-year-old outside home

METAIRIE, La. – An off-duty Louisiana police officer shot and wounded a 14-year-old boy after he found several people in his front yard early Friday morning, authorities said.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said the boy was hospitalized in critical condition Friday afternoon, news outlets reported.

Lopinto said the officer was asleep when he heard noises outside his home around 3 a.m. Friday in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie. The man went outside and saw several juveniles in his front yard, near his vehicle, authorities said.

An altercation occurred and the man shot the 14-year-old in the head, Lopinto said. The other individuals fled the scene but were later identified and interviewed, Lopinto said.

The man and boy were not immediately identified. Lopinto also didn’t specify which agency the man works for but said he was not a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy.

Lopinto declined to state whether the officer would be arrested on any charges.

“We’re treating him as a victim and a suspect,” Lopinto said.