By Pat Culverhouse

A Friday night fight evolved into a shooting incident and a 28-year-old Minden man is currently being held in the parish prison as a result, according to Minden Chief of Police Jared McIver.

McIver said Martin Wayne Sims, Jr., is charged with illegal use of weapons after he allegedly fired shots toward a group of individuals just before 10 p.m. Friday. No injuries were reported as a result of the shooting.

Officers responded to a Moore St. residence to investigate a disturbance which had been reported by Sims Jr. At the scene, officers reportedly found the suspect with injuries including scrapes, a minor laceration to one finger and a bloodied nose.

During an interview, Sims Jr. claimed someone among a group of people threw a bottle toward him as he walked in his neighborhood. When he and one individual began fighting, Sims alleged he was attacked by multiple individuals.

According to officers, Sims Jr. admitted to returning to his residence, retrieving a handgun and firing one shot toward the group from the front door in what he claimed was an act of self defense.

Witnesses claimed to have heard six or seven gunshots, but reportedly were unable to provide information on the alleged physical altercation.

After receiving consent to search the Moore St. residence, officers reportedly located the firearm in a bathroom. When the firearm was discovered, the magazine reportedly was empty and the slide mechanism was locked to the rear, which officers said is normal when a semi-automatic handgun fires its last round.

Sims Jr. is currently being held at Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center under a $20,000 bond.

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.