3 days Ago By WEBSTER PARISH JOURNAL
MINDEN, La. -- More than 50 shots were fired into a large group of individuals, including children, attending a Sunday late-night barbecue on Stone Street, and Minden investigators are looking for information from the public to help identify the suspects. Police Chief Jared McIver said one person was grazed by a bullet and not seriously wounded.
No other injuries were reported in the shooting which occurred just before midnight. Bullets also struck two adjoining homes, with one entering a young person’s bedroom, striking the wall just above where he was sleeping. “We have four slender black males driving up and exiting an early 2000s model gray Honda Accord, running down the street to the residence and opening fire,” McIver said.
“Our investigators recovered 53 shell casings from 9MM handguns and one assault type rifle.” Lt. Jason Smith, head of the MPD Criminal Investigation Division, said the incident was caught on security cameras in the area, but the license plate was covered by an article of clothing.
“These thugs have absolutely no regard for human life other than their own,” Smith said. “They just opened fire on a group of people that included small children. They do this because they’re scared to fight.
They just shoot instead.” Smith said investigators are looking for information from anyone who may have seen the suspects’ vehicle. Unfortunately, he added, officers have received little cooperation from individuals at the scene.
“By the time we arrived, the crowd had largely disappeared. No one who was still on scene gave us any information,” Smith said. Investigators believe the shooting could be gang related, and they have suspects in mind who have been involved in other incidents.
McIver said Minden residents should not let the incident cause them to feel uneasy in their neighborhoods. “This is an act of cowardice. We will be bringing them all to justice and our residents should feel safe in all neighborhoods in the city,” he said.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call police headquarters at 318-371-4226 or Lt. Smith at 318-268-1441 (cell)..
