Man shot and killed at Mandeville gas station

MANDEVILLE (WGNO) — Mandeville police say a man was shot at a Shell gas station Monday morning (April 4) and died at the hospital.

The accused shooter was taken into custody for questioning. Police say the shooting appears to be justifiable at this point in the investigation.  They also say that the accused shooter was carrying his pistol in plain view, also known as open carry, which does not require a permit.

The shooting happened at the Shell gas station at 3959 Hwy 22 at about 10:00 in the morning.  Police say a man was making a purchase at the store and began berating the store clerk and using racial slurs while in an agitated state.  Police say the clerk ordered the man to leave the store, which he did.  But then he re-entered and then left — multiple times — each time becoming more aggressive.

Police say at one point, another customer tried to de-escalate the situation by also telling the agitated man to leave.

The final time the man left the store, the other customer followed and tried to take down his license plate number.  Police say at that point, the man began to attack the other customer from in the parking lot back into the store.

At that point, the other customer fired his pistol.

Police also say that there were about 5 witnesses at the time and they all are telling similar stories about what they saw.  Detectives compared the witnesses’ accounts with security camera footage and opted not to bring charges against the customer who opened fire.  The MPD will however refer the case to the St. Tammany District Attorney’s Office for further review.

Police say no store employees were involved. They removed a white minivan from the scene as part of their investigation.