48°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast
Follow our weather team on social media

After senseless triple murder, gunmen stole weapon from dead victim at College Dr. apartment

2 years 9 months 3 weeks ago Wednesday, June 02 2021 Jun 2, 2021 June 02, 2021 4:20 PM June 02, 2021 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE – Shocking new details emerged Wednesday about a deadly shootout that killed a one-year-old and two others unrelated to the baby: A teenager and an adult.

Watch and stream WBRZ newscasts here for the latest on this case

Ja'tyri Brown, the young child, was killed while she was playing near the pool of the Fairway View Apartments on College Drive Monday evening.  Brown, her family has said in multiple interviews with WBRZ since, was an innocent bystander – shot by a stray bullet when selfish gunmen unwieldly opened fire hitting Brown, the two others and vehicles parked in the complex parking lot.

“My whole family is torn apart,” the child’s grandfather, George Provost, said in a new interview Wednesday where he chastised politicians and even pastors for not taking a tougher stand on violence and looking for ways to encourage peace on the streets.  Watch the powerful interview with Chris Nakamoto on WBRZ News 2 at 6:00 Wednesday.  The news is always streaming live here.

Provost’s wife Hope spoke similarly in another interview Tuesday in the hours after her granddaughter’s murder: "I really just want my baby back, I just wanna hug her and kiss her, just one more time and let her know, mama loves her,” Hope Provost said in an emotional TV interview seen Tuesday evening on Channel 2.

"She didn't die in an accident, she didn't die because she was sick, somebody took her from me, they murdered my grandbaby,” Hope Provost said.

The “somebody” – or likely “somebodies” – is still being figured out, police said, although sources told Nakamoto Wednesday, detectives hoped to be able to publicly identify who they believe are two gunmen soon.  Police earlier described a large investigation with many, many witnesses.  The pool party was packed with people Monday night when the gunfire erupted at the College Drive complex.

Dwayne Dunn, Jr., 17, and Reginald Thomas, 20, were also killed in the shooting.  Police believe one of them was targeted.  WBRZ.com reported first this week, at least two gunmen entered a gated pool area around 8 p.m. Monday and confronted the older two victims before haphazardly opening fire.

Dunn and Thomas died at the scene, police said.  The child died at the hospital.

Also Wednesday, sources close to the investigation told WBRZ’s Chris Nakamoto, eyewitnesses told police early-on in the investigation, one of the two older victims had their own gun when the shooting unfolded.  After shooting the older victims, the gunmen took the victim’s gun from the scene, WBRZ learned. 

Dunn and Thomas were shot multiple times. The baby was shot once.

The WBRZ Investigative Unit learned the older victim in the shooting, Reginald Thomas, was caught in gunfire previously.  In September, Thomas escaped a shooting in Baker that sent four people to the hospital.  Shockingly, one of the victims was also a child.

A rally was held at the College Drive apartment complex Wednesday evening to call for an end to the violence in Baton Rouge. See the full story here.

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days