BATON ROUGE - Police say a 3-year-old boy, now identified as Emouri Woodard, died Friday morning after accidentally shooting himself with a handgun.

The tragedy happened around 7:30 a.m. on Sumrall Drive, just a week after the child had started preschool.

Police Chief TJ Morse described the scene as heartbreaking, not only for the family, but also for the officers who responded.

“You know, the first officer here was here by himself for a little while doing CPR and trying to control bleeding. So definitely got to check on their mental wellness,” Chief Morse said.

The chief said the responding officer was sent home for the rest of the day to recover from the traumatic experience.

Baton Rouge Police have resources in place to support officers, including peer-to-peer programs, c

See Full Page