Teen believes man who followed her home was suspect involved in shooting that injured officer

DENHAM SPRINGS, La. (WAFB) - Investigators are still piecing together what went down during a deadly shootout in Denham Springs that left an officer hospitalized with critical injuries.

What could be the missing piece to the timeline leading up to the shooting that injured Cpl. Shawn Kelly with the Denham Springs Police Department involves a road rage incident earlier in the day.

A teenager believes she had a run-in with the suspected shooter just before he went to a shopping center parking lot.

RELATED: Denham Springs officer critically injured in shooting; suspect dead

Charley Scott was enjoying her last days of high school, grabbing something to eat before heading home. It was on her drive home, around 3:30, she said something unusual happened.

“That is when the road rage incident started,” said Scott. “He kept following me. Then, I noticed him in my driveway.”

“Middle-aged, dark hair, thick, and long,” is how she described the driver.

Later that evening, she saw on television what she believes is the same vehicle that followed her wrapped in police tape.

Denham Springs police responded to a disturbance at a shopping center around 4 p.m. Thursday, May 11, just a few miles from her home.

Cpl. Kelly was working traffic detail. His department said he volunteered to respond, even though it wasn’t his duty.

Police said Justin Roberts, 30, started firing at responding law enforcement, even while he was running away, hitting Cpl. Kelly multiple times.

While first responders were saving one of their own, police said Roberts drove off, still firing at officers as a Livingston Parish sheriff’s deputy shot back, hitting Roberts.

Multiple law enforcement agencies rushed to the scene, including Louisiana State Police, and deputies with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, who are now leading the investigation.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2022 WAFB. All rights reserved.