19-year-old LSU student shot and killed during Saturday night party in New Iberia

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NEW IBERIA - According to The Daily Iberian, an LSU student was shot and killed over the weekend.

The news outlet said 19-year-old Liam McDuff was killed at a party held Saturday (Dec. 12) at New Iberia's former Sugar Oaks Road horse barn.

McDuff, a Catholic High New Iberia graduate who'd become a member of LSU's Theta Xi and recently made the Dean's List, was on semester break and attending the party when a group of individuals who hadn't been invited showed up and apparently caused a disturbance.

According to The Daily Iberian, around 1 a.m., when asked to leave the party someone from the group fired a gun and a bullet hit McDuff.

The 19-year-old was rushed to Iberia Medical Center, where he died early Sunday morning.

An Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office (IPSO) spokeswoman said authorities spoke with numerous eyewitnesses who were able to explain exactly what happened, and because of this detectives expect to solve the case relatively swiftly.

Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero says he doesn't believe McDuff was specifically targeted in the shooting.

The news outlet notes that, incidentally, exactly 10 years ago on Sunday, another murder occurred in the same location where McDuff was shot. 

IPSO deputies discovered the body of Dr. Robert Chastant’s near the horse barn and eventually, one of his employees, Ismael Viera, was arrested for the murder.

Viera is currently serving a mandatory life sentence for second-degree murder.