‘NCIS: New Orleans’ Shocker! Original Cast Member Exits After 6 Seasons

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for NCIS: New Orleans Season 6 Episode 6, “Matthew 5:9.”]

In a shocking move, NCIS: New Orleans said goodbye to one of its own on Tuesday night.

In Episode 6, titled “Matthew 5:9,” Special Agent Christopher Lasalle, played by Lucas Black, died from gunshot wounds, despite best efforts to save him. Lasalle had been on a mission to avenge his brother Cade’s murder by tracking a drug ring in Alabama he believed to be responsible.

At the start of the episode, Lasalle was shot while investigating a cabin believed to be the scene of his brother’s death. A gunman stormed through the door, aiming at a woman, Sue-Anne Hughes, who had been aiding the agent in his search. Lasalle pushed her out of the line of fire, charged the shooter, and sustained gunshot wounds in the arm and abdomen. But after surviving emergency surgery, his vitals began to crash and he died while imagining being reunited with his brother.

There had been some fan speculation this season on social media about character’s possible death, thanks to Black — who has played Lasalle since Season 1 — ominously posting about the role he’s inhabited for six seasons.

Sam Lotheridge/CBS ©2019 CBS

After the episode aired, Black thanked fans on Twitter for their support through the years, writing, “Thank you all! Really appreciate the love and support from you! My time on NCIS: New Orleans was an amazing experience!

NCIS: New Orleans showrunners Christopher Silber and Jan Nash also released a statement thanking Black for his many years on the CBS procedural.

“We had an amazing run with Lucas Black and he has been such an important part of our NCIS: New Orleans team. We are sad to see him go, but happy he will have more time to spend with his family,” the statement reads.

Sam Lothridge/CBS

Were you surprised by this major death? Sound off in the comments below.

NCIS: New Orleans, Tuesdays, 10/9c, CBS