Denham Springs Police Cpl. Shawn Kelly is the second city police officer to die in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, an online tribute to fallen officers.

James Ellis Foster Jr. died Dec. 30, 2014, a day after he was thrown from his motorcycle while heading toward a traffic collision on Interstate 12.

At the time, investigators say a motorist struck Foster, throwing him 80 feet. The driver was cited for failure to yield.

According to the memorial group, until Kelly was shot May 11 the state had seen 561 law officers die in the line of duty, and, of those, 303 died from deliberate gunfire.

Kelly had been in critical condition since being shot while responding to a disturbance in a shopping center parking lot.

Officers initially went to the scene after being told of a disturbance involving a man and a woman, who had been arguing. The suspect reportedly started shooting when police arrived, and officers returned fire.

The shooter was identified as 30-year-old Justin Roberts, who died after being shot by police at an intersection a few blocks north of where Kelly was shot. 

Kelly is the sixth Louisiana law officer to die on duty this year, and the fourth in the Baton Rouge area, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

The others in the Baton Rouge region this year, according to the group:
-Sgt. David Poirrier and Cpl. Scotty Canezaro, Baton Rouge Police, in a March 26 helicopter crash in West Baton Rouge Parish.
-Officer Carl Douglas Kimball, St. Francisville Police, from COVID-19 on Jan. 12.