Suspect is arrested in Vets clinic shooting in New Orleans

Suspect is arrested in Vets clinic shooting
Man's wife shot in leg Tuesday, September 23, 2008
By Michelle Hunter
Kerry Bruce missed his court date Monday afternoon where he was supposed to enter a plea on charges of domestic violence against his wife. Authorities say that's because he was at a Metairie clinic shooting her.

Bruce, 45, of New Orleans, led deputies on a 30-minute manhunt through a Metairie neighborhood before a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office helicopter flushed him out of hiding in a backyard.

Bruce's wife, Stephanie, 43, was taken to University Hospital in New Orleans with a gunshot wound to the leg, according to Col. John Fortunato, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. She was in stable condition Monday evening and expected to recover.

In addition to the domestic violence charges he faces in Orleans, Jefferson Parish authorities have now booked Bruce with attempted second-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping, Fortunato said.

The shooting occurred about 2:30 p.m. at the Ochsner Rehabilitation Center, 850 Veterans Memorial Blvd., where Stephanie Bruce worked as a receptionist, Fortunato said. The physical therapy center is on the second-floor of the office building.

Fay Bridges of New Orleans was inside receiving therapy for her back when the shooting took place. She said she and at least four other patients were in a large therapy room, down the hall and away from the reception area.

She didn't see the shooting.

"I heard a pop, pop, then she screamed," Bridges said of the shooting victim. Then Bridges heard a male employee repeatedly telling someone, "Don't do that."

Bridges said the patients panicked and began trying to take cover, but there were few places to hide. All the while, she said she could hear Stephanie Bruce's cries. "She was screaming for dead murder," Bridges said.

According to authorities, Bruce shot his wife in the leg and was trying to drag her into the elevator and out of the building. In talking with other witnesses, Bridges said she was told a male Ochsner employee tried to intervene, but took cover behind a door when Bruce pointed the gun at him.
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