A wanted felon stole a rifle, held his family hostage, kidnapped a woman, and had a shootout with police on a wooded road, all while high on meth.
The dangerous situation began when 26-year-old Bryan Menard broke into a neighbor’s house and stole a 30-06 rifle on May 29, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Menard had been “ingesting methamphetamine” when he began arguing with family members at a house on Highway 1054 in Kentwood, according to the TPSO.
When he left, Menard’s family members went out into the front yard, but Menard surprised them by crawling out from beneath the house, armed with the stolen rifle.
While holding his family at gunpoint, Menard demanded that someone go inside to retrieve his grandfather’s shotguns and ammunition, according to the TPSO.
Now armed with a pair of loaded shotguns, Menard abandoned the stolen rifle and fled.
Menard next turned up at a nearby home, where he took a woman hostage, forcing her at gunpoint to drive him away in her car.
While holding the woman hostage inside the car, Menard “consumed methamphetamine,” according to the TPSO.
The woman was able to text 911 details of her situation, and officers arrived at the scene to surround the vehicle on Hayden Road.
Menard allowed the woman to get out of the car before he opened fire.
Fragments from the shotgun blasts struck one deputy in the arm, another in the head, and a K-9 in the face,
according to the STPSO.
All of the injuries were considered to be minor.
Menard jumped out of the woman’s car after firing several shots and fled into a wooded area.
After a 15-minute search, officers were able to locate and arrest Menard.
Upon questioning, Menard admitted to being on probation and parole, and said he decided to shoot at the police when he realized he was going to go back to jail.
When he fled into to woods, Menard said he was “prepared for war” with the police, according to the TPSO, but he got tired of hiding and wandered into an open field, where he was arrested.
He faces a litany of charges, including aggravated burglary, armed robbery second degree kidnapping false imprisonment, three counts of attempted first degree murder on a police officer, and several other charges, according to the TPSO.