VENICE, La. — A boater in waters south of Venice, Louisiana, was arrested Friday after officials said he fired a weapon at U.S. Coast Guard personnel responding to a distress call.
According to a news release, the Coast Guard received a distress signal Thursday from a 40-foot sailboat about 75 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, in the Gulf of Mexico, USA Today reported.
After noticing a person and two dogs aboard the vessel, the Coast Guard crew attempted to lower a radio down to the boat, but the person on the boat pointed “what appeared to be a firearm at the helicopter,” and the aircrew heard objects striking the aircraft, the news release stated.
The crew swiftly vacated the airspace and observed after returning to Air Station New Orleans that the helicopter’s rotors had sustained damage consistent with projectiles from a firearm, USA Today reported.
Officials with the Coast Guard Investigative Service returned to the scene Friday in an airplane and response boat and arrested the boater without incident. The Coast Guard has not identified the boater, specified any charges the suspect faces or offered any insight into why the alleged gunshots were fired, CNN reported.
“Safety of life was our number one priority during this challenging incident,” Lt. Phillip VanderWeit, a spokesperson for the Eighth Coast Guard District said. “Through the professional and skillful work of our crews and interagency partners, we were able to bring this incident to a peaceful resolution.”
Venice, Louisiana, sits west of the Mississippi River, about 75 miles south of New Orleans, according to CNN.