Two Louisiana Deputies Killed in Shootout; 5 Suspects in Custody

Aug. 16, 2012 -- Two Louisiana sheriff's deputies were killed in a early-morning shootout at a trailer park outside New Orleans after being led there in pursuit of suspects from an earlier incident in which two other officers were shot and wounded.

Five suspects are currently in custody, as authorities try to figure out what first led gunmen to open fire on cops patrolling a parking lot near a steel plant and oil refinery in LaPlace, La., around 5 a.m. CDT., according to St. John the Baptist Sheriff Mike Tregre.

Tregre said it's unknown why the gunmen first opened fire in the parking lot in LaPlace and described the investigation as ongoing.

At least one officer received "multiple gunshot wounds" at the parking lot. Despite his wounds, the officer radioed a description of the gunmen and their car.

Deputies received a call from a civilian about a speeding car matching the description of a vehicle seen at the scene of the shooting. The driver then led other officers to a nearby trailer home.

There officers Brandon Brandon Neilsen, 34, and Jeremy Triche, 28, were "ambushed" by at least three men inside the trailer, one of whom exited the back of the home with an assault-style weapon.

That gunman "ambushed my two officers," Tregre said.

Initial reports indicated that a suspect involved in the shooting was still at large. Tregre described the trailer park as a "semi-hot scene" but said there was no longer a public danger.

More than 20 shots were fired between the two locations, from multiple weapons, suggesting a large-scale and sustained shootout.

All five suspects are currently in the hospital. None have yet been charged.

Louisiana State Police have taken over the investigation.