Photograph: Opelousas Police Chief Martin McLendon
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
Opelousas police officers are seeking more information as they continue separate investigations in connection with two shootings that occurred in the city last week, according to Police Chief Martin McLendon.
At this point McLendon is uncertain whether shootings on the corner of South Union and Landry Street and another two nights later on West South are related.
“We are continuing our investigation with both the victims and their families. Someone knows something, but no one is talking right now,” McLendon said on Thursday.
Both shootings produced injuries that required hospitalizations, said McLendon.
McLendon said the shooting on corners of Union and Landry was called in to law enforcement as a traffic crash. Police investigators realized otherwise after they discovered spent bullet casings on the roadway.
“There was some type of shooting that caused the vehicle to crash. When we got to the scene, there was a person who had already been taken to the hospital in a private vehicle. We did speak to the victim when he was recovering,” said McLendon who did not provide the name of the victim.
In the West South Street incident, McLendon said a male and female were each shot in the leg as they walked along the roadway.
“They were just pedestrians when they were confronted by gunfire,” McLendon said. McLendon did not release the names of the alleged South Street victims..
