'Ambushed': New Orleans police officer shot in French Quarter by man in pedicab

Officer seriously wounded; suspect arrested, tried to bite first responders, witness says

By BRYN STOLE and RAMON ANTONIO VARGAS | Staff writers @ Nola.com, UPDATED OCT 30, 2020 AT 8:16 PM with photo and video

A pedicab passenger inexplicably shot a New Orleans police officer in the face in the French Quarter on Friday afternoon, just as revelers began arriving to celebrate Halloween weekend.

The officer was wounded at about 4:25 p.m. while in his patrol vehicle near St. Philip and Royal streets. Other officers took him to a hospital rather than wait for paramedics, and police arrested the alleged gunman within minutes, Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said. 

Ferguson said the officer was in serious but stable condition after being shot under his left eye. The bullet was lodged in the officer's skull, but the four-year veteran, whose name was not immediately released, was responsive as he walked into the hospital holding his cheek, Ferguson said.

A second officer, a 16-year veteran, was wounded by glass shards in the shooting, from a shattered window on the cruiser.  "Two of our officers were ambushed," said Ferguson, who said officers confiscated a gun that they think was used in the shooting. "This is a dark day."

Ferguson said the suspect, who had a gun holster on him, appeared to be experiencing some type of medical episode when he was captured. He said the man was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and he made clear that the arresting officers did not use any physical force on the suspect. 

"I want to commend those officers for maintaining professionalism," Ferguson said.

Ferguson did not identify the suspect or specify what charges he would face. Friday night, a law enforcement source identified the suspect as Donnell Linwood Hansel, 45.

Several eyewitnesses said two officers were in an SUV on Royal Street crossing St. Philip when a pedicab riverbound on St. Philip approached. A man in the back of the pedicab stood up and fired at least five shots into the driver's side door of the police vehicle, they said. The shooter ran off as the pedicab crashed.

Gabriel Shaffer, an artist who owns a gallery on that block of Royal, said he heard the wounded officer get out of the vehicle while moaning and exclaiming in pain. 

"I could clearly hear him say, 'Oh, my God, somebody just took my life!'" Shaffer said. "It was pretty awful."

Tour guides Angie Still and Karen Fernandez said they were just a few yards away when the shooting erupted [....]