NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) - Police say a gunman terrorized a couple near the Bywater, and in a twist of fate he ended up dead. He was shot with his own gun Thursday at North Rampart and Alvar streets.



"I heard pop, pop, and my daughter said, 'Did you hear that?'" said former church pastor Jim Leonard, who heard the gunshots that marked the end of a violent attack. "We heard a police siren squawk and we said police must be on it."



Police say at about 9:30 p.m. a couple took a stroll in the 3800 block of North Rampart near the old Frederick Douglass school. As they made it to the corner of Alvar, a man with a gun forced them into a construction site at the school.



Police say the 26-year-old gunman forced the couple into the school yard and sexually assaulted the woman. Somehow, the male victim managed to get the attacker's gun and shot him. He later died at a hospital.



Thiery Guillemin was getting home from work as police were interviewing the victims.



"She looked really distraught," Guillemin said. "She was Caucasian, mid-20s, long black hair."



"I just saw her get put on a stretcher and that was it. She looked like she was in shock," said Patrick Krah, who lives nearby.



Guillemin pointed out that the 5th District police station is just around the corner, and police are up and down the street all night long.



"Nobody wins in that situation," said neighbor Shea Embry. There's a person who died. The couple or the community - we all lose."



"If that was myself and my wife, I can only imagine what I would do," Krah said, looking at the crime scene. "I'm happy he was there with her to help out."