State Trooper Shot in Head During Traffic Stop, in Critical Condition; Suspect Detained by Passing Motorists (UPDATED)

UPDATE 11:41 p.m. ET: NEW ORLEANS (TheBlaze/AP) — Senior Trooper Steven Vincent has severe neurological damage as a result of a gunshot to his head during a traffic stop in southwest Louisiana Sunday.

"His brain is not telling his body what to do," Col. Mike Edmonson said of the 43-year-old, adding that video shows the trooper trying to talk a man out of a truck stuck in a ditch and the man shooting him with a sawed-off shotgun.

At a Sunday night news conference in Lake Charles carried live by KPLC-TV, Edmonson said Vincent was hit by two or three buckshot pellets, after which 54-year-old Kevin Daigle of Lake Charles said, "You're lucky, you're going to die."

Then a driver turned around on the highway, got out, wrestled the shotgun away from Daigle, got him on the ground and got Vincent's handcuffs onto Daigle, Edmonson said.

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LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — A Louisiana state trooper was shot in the head and critically injured Sunday afternoon during a struggle with a man whose pickup truck had run into a ditch after being reported as driving erratically, Louisiana State Police said.

Image source: KPLC-TV

Other drivers stopped to help Senior Trooper Steven Vincent, a 13-year state police veteran in southwest Louisiana and member of a law enforcement family, said Col. Michael Edmonson, head of state police.

Trooper Steven Vincent (Image source: Facebook)

"Thank God for several civilians who pulled over," he said in a telephone interview. "They jumped out, they subdued him, grabbed the trooper's handcuffs and put them on the suspect. And they rendered first aid" to Vincent, 43.

Trooper Steven Vincent (Image source: Facebook)

Edmonson said the arrested man, Kevin Daigle, 54, of Lake Charles, had a number of previous arrests, though he did not know details. He said he did not know all the charges that Daigle will face, but they will include attempted murder of a police officer.

Sgt. James Anderson, southwest Louisiana spokesman for state police, said Vincent was in critical but stable condition Sunday evening, and Daigle also was in a hospital.

"He struggled with the guys who came to assist — had some scrapes on him and so on," Anderson said.

He said both men are white.

Anderson said police had received calls Sunday about a maroon Dodge pickup truck with a camper shell that was driving erratically. A bit later, it was reported in a ditch. The trooper got to the truck at 2:43 p.m., Anderson said.

"Sometime after that, he encountered the driver and a struggle ensued," he said. "Our trooper was shot in the head."

Earlier, Edmonson wrote about the shooting on the department's Facebook page. The message's subject line was "Trooper Critically Injured — Prayers Needed."

"Please take a moment from your Sunday afternoon to send prayers and well wishes to the Trooper and his family in this critical time," Edmonson wrote.

Within an hour, 5,100 people had shared the post and nearly 2,000 had posted messages saying they were praying.

Edmonson said Vincent has a wife and a 9-year-old son. One of Vincent's brothers is also a state trooper and another is a local police chief, Edmonson said.

As he ended the interview, he said, "Prayers. We need them."

This is breaking news; updates will be added.

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