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Fight between city workers led to dangerous shootout in Baker; 2 facing criminal charges
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BAKER - New details surfaced Thursday in a shootout that stemmed from an argument between workers at a city workshop in Baker.
An arrest warrant obtained by WBRZ says the shooting started Monday after the accused aggressor, Trenton Brown, got into a fight at the public works building on Mississippi Street.
As the argument escalated, both men allegedly threatened to get their guns. Witnesses said Brown then left, seemingly to retrieve his weapon from home, and other employees convinced the second man to go home.
When Brown returned, he immediately went looking for the other man, chasing him down as he walked home along Groom Road. When Brown caught up with him, he reportedly pulled onto the sidewalk in front of him and started shooting. The victim said he then took cover behind a tree and loaded his weapon — which he says he kept at work for his protection — before returning fire.
Both men were hurt in the exchange, with Brown leaving the scene before catching a ride to Lane Regional Medical Center in Zachary. Police later found his vehicle abandoned on Groom Road, still running with a gun on the passenger seat. The driver's side was also stained with blood.
Baker Police Chief Carl Dunn said the shots were heard by an officer at the police station just a couple blocks from the scene. From there, officers followed a vehicle to the Zachary hospital, where a blood-soaked uniform was found.
"One of my captains was outside and I saw him moving quickly to come inside and that's because I had him blocked in so he told me he just heard some shots and upon us approaching the scene we did observe the vehicle which was leaving the scene and in route to the hospital," Dunn said.
The shooting caused a lockdown at the Lane Regional Hospital for a short period of time.
"A lot of time with a shooting that just happened, just to take precaution and protect the other visitors and patients the hospital will go under lockdown immediately just to make sure everything is under control and everybody is safe," Dunn said.
The victim said he continued to walk home after the gunfight, and was picked up by another coworker who heard the commotion and convinced him to turn himself in. The victim said he left behind the gun, which was later recovered by police, because he feared getting in trouble.
Chief Dunn says that he was shocked by the news and thinks this argument could've been handled without violence.
"All of my city employees are like family to me, not only do you have family at home, but when you spend 10-12 hours a day with someone that should be like family. It's just bad with you see a simple argument get turned and escalated to the extreme," Dunn said.
"We're gonna work to see how we can do better when it comes to things like this," Mayor Darnell Waites said Thursday. "We can learn to treat each other, how to talk to each other."
Upon his release from the hospital, Brown will be booked on charges of attempted second-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon. The other worker was ticketed for illegally keeping a weapon at his job site.
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