Witnesses are saying the man who was wounded in a shootout with police over the weekend in the French Quarter had been threatening strangers.
Reports of the incident released yesterday say Austin Bental was seen pointing a gun at people and pulling the trigger at least five-times without it going off shortly before officers arrived on the scene.
Police shot Bental in the chest when he raised his weapon at them and later recovered a live round believed to have come from the suspect's gun.
Bental is currently in the hospital in critical condition, and the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on desk duty.
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