Photograph: Police discuss a Monday Opelousas shooting death as a woman meets with family and friends of the victim. (Photograph by Freddie Herpin.)
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
Opelousas police were still investigating a mid-city homicide late Monday night in connection with an early afternoon shooting that left one man dead near the intersection of East Franklin and South Union streets.
The shooting death which occurred on Monday was the third in Opelousas since Feb. 28.
Late Monday afternoon a large number of family members and friends of the victim that police had not identified on Monday night, quietly gathered and exchanged condolences outside Opelousas General Hospital.
A large contingent of police vehicles, some with their blue lights still flashing, were parked at the rear of the hospital, as some officers continued interviews connected to the case.
The police department press release said the victim was transported from the scene by first responders to the facility where he was later pronounced dead.
At the same time on the other side of Opelousas, officers had stretched crime scene tape across a portion of East Franklin and were processing the scene where police said in the press release that the victim fell after he was apparently shot several times at around 2:30 p.m.
Police said in the press release that the male victim was found lying in the roadway, suffering from probable fatal gunshot wounds.
First responders, according to the press release, arrived at the scene of the shooting and attempted to save the life of the man before he was transported to the hospital, said the press release.
Also the press release indicated that investigators assigned to the case were using surveillance footage retrieved from the area where the homicide occurred, in addition to speaking to prospective witnesses.
The Monday shooting investigation by Opelousas police marked the continuation of violent a month that featured the two previous fatal shooting incidents followed by arrests.
In the pair of separate and apparently unrelated homicides that police said occurred Feb. 28 and March 15, the alleged shooters arrested by Opelousas police officers – Jason Leday and Lendrell Gentris – were each booked into the St. Landry Parish Jail on second degree murder charges, their arrest affidavits indicated.
Leday was arrested Feb. 28 in connection with the shooting death of Harrison Bordenave at Anytime Fitness, the arrest affidavit showed.
The March 15 arrest of Gentris by Opelousas police was made in connection with the fatal shooting of Xavier Bryant who police said was allegedly shot twice at 844 Jerome Loop, the arrest affidavit said.
