Sergeant Rick Riggenbach was shot and killed after he and two St. Mary Parish deputies responded to reports of a mobile home fire and an armed subject on Flatown Road, near, Charenton shortly after 9:00 am. The fire was reported just off of tribal land about one quarter mile from a Chitimacha-owned casino.



When Sergeant Riggenbach arrived at the scene the subject shot him with a shotgun, fatally wounding him. The subject then opened fire on the two St. Mary Parish deputies as they arrived at the scene moments later. Both deputies were critically wounded. The subject, who was also wounded at some point during the incident, was taken into custody by other responding officers and transported to a local hospital.



After the house fire was extinguished the body of its owner was discovered in the debris. The subject who started the fire was a neighbor with a history of mental illness.



Sergeant Riggenbach was a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the Chitimacha Tribal Police Department for 4-1/2 years. He had previuosly served 10-1/2 years with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office. He is survived by his wife, son, two daughters, and grandchildren.

