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It was the disaster Chief Bryan Zeringue’s officers had trained for, and when it came, they were ready.
That’s the assessment for now of a near-tragedy Friday morning, when a gunfight broke out in a Thibodaux night-spot, spilling out onto the town’s main drag with shots still being fired amid panicked, escaping revelers.
“Nobody died and nobody was hit,” Thibodaux Police Chief Bryan Zeringue said. “That is the miracle.”
The gunplay began in a packed Club Row-Lexx on Canal Boulevard near closing time Friday morning, about 1:30 a.m., sending horrified patrons scurrying to exits and pouring out onto the street. Carlton Ellis and Clifton Harris III, both 21, were identified as the gunmen. Ellis, police said, kept firing into the crowd.
Responding officers did not have far to travel, having been out in force because Thursday is a big “club” night in the college town, and one who responded – although his name has not been released – is the subject of particular attention.
Eyeing Harris firing a pistol the officer took aim, seeking to eliminate the threat to innocent people and himself.
“He had the shot, he was going to take it and then he saw someone step into the line of sight, taking away his shot,” Thibodaux Police spokesman David Melancon said. “Because of his discipline and training, he knew to pay attention. The training kicked in.”
At that point Harris stopped firing and jumped into a car with Ellis. He vehicle was blocked in by other parked cars and the two men abandoned the vehicle, fleeing on foot, to be apprehended a short time later. A gun was found in the car. Ellis is charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated criminal damage to property. He was also booked on two warrants for failure to appear on traffic offenses and was jailed in lieu of a $300,200 bond. Harris is charged as a principal to aggravated assault of a firearm and a principal to aggravated criminal damage to property.
Ellis, of Baton Rouge, is charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated criminal damage to property. He was also booked on two warrants for failure to appear in court on traffic offenses and remains in the Lafourche Parish jail on a $300,200 bond.
Harris, of Thibodaux, is charged as a principal to aggravated assault with a firearm and principal to aggravated criminal damage to property. He remains jailed on a $150,000 bond.
The heavy police presence on nights when large gatherings occur is bankrolled in part by federal grant money for underage drinking enforcement.
Zeringue praised the work of his officers, who make a point of mingling with crowds outside of clubs so that revelers can know who they are, and so that officers can get a better handle on who the revelers are.
“At the bottom line it’s community policing,” said Zeringue, who personally visited sororities, fraternities and has made other appearances to explain police deployments when he took over the department in 2015. “We focus in town and out of town with functions going on. It’s about being proactive. On Thursday night we had a lot of officers out.”
The New Orleans Saints were playing a pre-season game and the Nicholls State University football team was playing as well, both heavy drawing cards to clubs in town.
Club Roll-exx is a popular venue offering a live DeeJay and other entertainment.
Club owner Larry Luther was contacted for comment but declined to speak about the matter.
Thibodaux Mayor Tommy Eschete was fully briefed on the situation, and said he was not surprised at the level of professionalism displayed.
“Their professionalism is not always experienced by most of our citizens,” Eschete said. “But both the chief and I know their capabilities and we can assure our citizens that they are in good hands.”
