Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced detectives are investigating an incident wherein a toy gun was pulled on an off-duty deputy early Monday morning.

During the early morning hours of June 10, 2024, an off-duty deputy was traveling in the central Lafourche Parish area when she noticed she was being followed closely by a pickup truck. At around 1:30 a.m., the off-duty deputy pulled into the parking lot at the LPSO Criminal Operations Center in Lockport, and the truck followed. The truck stopped in the parking lot, and a passenger exited and pointed a gun at the deputy’s vehicle before leaving the area.

The off-duty deputy reported the incident and followed the vehicle to the area of Central Lafourche Drive. Additional deputies responded to the area and conducted a traffic stop. Deputies identified the occupants of the truck as three teenage males. All were detained and questioned about the incident. They also located three gel blaster guns painted to appear as real firearms. No charges have yet been filed, but the investigation into this incident is continuing.

Through investigation, deputies learned the teenagers thought they were following a friend’s vehicle and were unaware they were actually following a deputy instead. Sheriff Webre said it is important for parents and children to fully understand the risks involved with handling toy guns or replica guns designed to look like real firearms.

“Because the goal is to look like an actual firearm, neither a deputy nor a citizen would be able to tell the difference in a split-second when one is pointed at them, especially at night,” said Sheriff Webre. “Thankfully, this situation ended peacefully for all involved, but these teens’ mistake of thinking they were following friends could have had potentially deadly consequences. I urge everyone to use extreme caution when displaying firearms or realistic-looking weapons in public places, and never point a gun at anyone without legal justification. I also strongly recommend to never modify toy guns to look like an actual firearm.”