Several people and police officers got into a fight in south Shreveport on Thursday. This led to a foot chase, and in the end, about 60 guns were found at a home in the southeast part of the city.
The public information office for the Shreveport Police Department says that the Violent Crime Apprehension Team “engaged with multiple individuals” in the 9200 block of Biddle Street after getting a tip from a citizen. Police say that one of the people who ran away on foot dropped a gun as they did so. Gunner Hendrix, 29, was arrested near the intersection of Interstate 49 and Highway 3132, southwest of that location. Having guns and making and selling Schedule I drugs are the charges against him.
Police found THC vials in Hendrix’s car, which led to a search request for his home at 706 Woodvale St., which is about five miles away. Police said they found about 60 weapons there, including 20 rifles and 13 shotguns. Police also said they found a vest with body armor and parts that could be used to make semi-automatic weapons work like automatic weapons.
Chief of Police in Shreveport, Wayne Smith, said that some of the guns could be used for fun or self-defense, but “many of them are only meant to hurt and hurt someone.” He also said that 993 guns have been taken away so far in 2024.
“I can feel confident saying something on this table was going to end up injuring or killing someone at some point or another,” he said, “but this seizure has, in fact, saved someone’s life and made our community much safer.”
For example, Hendrix was arrested and charged with illegally having a weapon in October and December 2019; he was also arrested and charged with possessing marijuana in June 2013 and October 2014.
The police chief, Wayne Smith, said that the guns will be destroyed once the legal process is over. His office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are still looking into it.