A truck driver fatally shot a Ringgold man Sunday morning as he attempted to break into his 18-wheeler, Bienville Parish Sheriff John Ballance said.
The shooting appears to be justified since the truck driver was defending himself, Ballance said.
It happened around 5 a.m. at the Pot Luck Liquor parking lot on U.S. Highway 371. The truck driver had permission to park his rig there overnight and sleep.
The driver told deputies he was awakened by a man trying to break the glass out of his tractor as he was in his sleeper. The driver told the man to stop, but he went around to the other window, grabbed the outside rearview mirror and was hanging on it in attempt to kick in the window, Ballance said.
That’s when the driver fired four shots. It’s uncertain how many times the man, identified as Jonathan Raney, 35, of Ringgold, was hit. He was taken to Ochsner LSU Health, where he died.
Before trying to break into the 18-wheeler, Raney broke the glass door of Pot Luck Liquor, Ballance said, but he did not enter.
The driver driver was interviewed and allowed to leave.
Toxicology from an autopsy could provide deputies with more information about whether Raney had underlying problems contributing to his behavior, Ballance said.
