Irate camp counselor fires gun near school bus, police say

A summer camp counselor got upset, retrieved a gun and fired it off in the vicinity of a bus full of young campers in the Bogalusa High School parking lot Wednesday afternoon, according to the Bogalusa Police Department.

The incident occurred just after 4 p.m., said BPD Capt. Joe Culpepper. No one was hurt.

“I don’t think he aimed at the kids,” said Culpepper.

Police arrested 18-year-old Joseph O’Berry, 324 Caswell Ave., and charged him with dangerous use of a weapon, a felony.

Police said O’Berry was a camp counselor for Camp Te Ca Towazi, the local chapter of Camp Fire USA, a nationwide organization that provides summer activities for boys and girls.

He was booked into the Bogalusa City Jail, and transferred to the Washington Parish Jail Friday for bonding.

Culpepper said it appeared the counselor had “gone crazy” while on the bus.

According to the police report, O’Berry said the people on the bus were “messing with him and he busted a cap,” said Culpepper.

“We received numerous calls that a shot or shots were fired,” he said. “Responding officers found a bus full of about 40 Camp Fire kids. A counselor had gone crazy, gone to his vehicle, returned with a weapon and fired a shot. He was mad for unknown reasons.”

The weapon, a handgun, was recovered, said Culpepper.

Camp Fire USA Towazi Council is currently under reorganization after the director resigned several weeks ago, camp officials have said. While the camp is ongoing this summer, the telephone number has been disconnected. An attempt to contact Board Member Leland White, whose number is listed for camp information, was unsuccessful as of deadline time.