NEW ROADS, La. — Two people are dead and another person wounded after a family dispute ended in gunfire in Pointe Coupee Parish, authorities said.
The triple shooting happened Friday night at a family gathering in New Roads, the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Office said.
“To my understanding, it was a family disturbance, family feud, and it escalated in gunshots being fired," Chief Deputy Brad Joffrion told WBRZ-TV. “That’s very unusual. We are normally a quiet parish.”
Neighbor Susan Easly was the first person to call law enforcement and said she was startled by the gunshots.
"It took a while for 911 to answer the phone, a long time, and I just told the lady that I need somebody to come because there was gunfire in the subdivision," Easly said.
Other neighbors were mortified. Neighbor Gayle Gremillion has lived in New Roads for decades and said the town never experiences violent crime like this.
"We've been down here about 40-something years, and I don't think anything this devastating ever happened here," Gremillion said.
Two people had been shot in the chest at close range and were found dead on the road. They were later identified as 34-year-old Howard Hollins Jr. and 25-year-old Gerell Hollins. One person suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip was flown to a Baton Rouge hospital.
Authorities said the suspect left the residence before deputies arrived, and they were searching for him.
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