New Orleans officer fatally shot outside high school basketball game

NEW ORLEANS — A deputy constable who also served as a Tulane University campus police officer was fatally shot Friday night outside a high school gymnasium during a basketball playoff game, authorities said.

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Martinus Mitchum, 38, was killed outside Carver High School, NOLA.com reported. Mitchum, a 2nd City Court deputy, was killed after a school staff member got into an argument with a man trying to enter Carver’s game at its home gymnasium against Warren Easton High School, the website reported.

According to police, Mitchum overheard the dispute, intervened, and tried to escort the man arguing with the staffer off-campus, WDSU reported.

“The officer heard the disturbance and attempted to intervene,” New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson told reporters during a news briefing. “As a result of trying to intervene and escort the individual out of the school, the individual pulled a weapon and fired a shot that struck the officer in the chest.”

Mitchum was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, WWL reported.

Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies, who were also at the school, arrested a person believed to be involved in the shooting, NOLA.com reported. The person was not immediately identified.

Mitchum’s family was notified of the shooting later Friday night, NOLA.com reported. Officials called off the basketball game, the website reported.

Information from Tulane’s website showed that Mitchum began working for the university’s police force on July 26, 2019, NOLA.com reported.

Charles Carmouche, a former high school basketball star who played at the University of New Orleans, LSU and Memphis, wrote on Twitter that Mitchum believed in him “when nobody did” and also checked in on him regularly.

“We really lost a great dude,” Carmouche tweeted.

Cox Media Group