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Officer Shawn Kelly dies in hospital weeks after shootout at Denham Springs shopping center

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BATON ROUGE - Cpl. Shawn Kelly died Friday after spending weeks in the hospital following a shootout with a suspect in Livingston Parish. 

Kelly had been hospitalized at Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge since May 11, when he was shot while responding to a disturbance at a shopping center on Range Avenue in Denham Springs. 

When officers arrived in the parking lot, 30-year-old Justin Roberts opened fire on police, striking Kelly multiple times. Officers fired back at Roberts, but he escaped in the ensuing chaos. 

A Livingston Parish sheriff's deputy caught up with Roberts after he fled the shooting scene, and Roberts was shot dead after he approached that deputy with a gun.

In the weeks that followed, the community held several blood drives and fundraisers in Kelly's honor.

Kelly's funeral is set for Thursday, June 8 at Healing Place Church on Highland Road. Visitation is scheduled for 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., with the service set to begin immediately afterward.

The visitation, service and burial will be open to the public. After the service, a procession will take Kelly from the church to Denham Springs Memorial Cemetery on North Range Avenue.

The Denham Springs Police Department released the following statements on Friday:

Chief Walker: On May 11th, 2023 evil and tragedy struck our community and because of it, we will forever be changed. Cpl. Shawn Kelly was a great public servant, a great father, grandfather, husband and just a great human being. He was one of the finest men I’ve ever known. The Denham Springs & Livingston Parish communities have truly lost one of its finest. On behalf of Cpl. Kelly’s family and his DSPD family, we thank you for your continued love, support and prayers during this difficult and tragic time.
Sgt. Sterling: Please respect the privacy of the Kelly family and the entire DSPD. We won’t be answering any further questions right now.
We will provide an update on the funeral arrangements and procession when those plans have been finalized.

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