LAPLACE, La. — The day after a shooting killed a man and an 11-year-old girl in Laplace, St. John Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre gave an update on the investigation. He said investigators believe the shooting was “not random,” confirmed the victims were related, and released their names.
Before the shooting, Tregre said investigators learned the family had been “planning a birthday party for a 3-year-old,” in a home on North Sugar Ridge Road. “They were blowing up balloons,” he said.
Then, shortly before midnight Friday, he said crime cameras show someone pull up and begin to shoot into the home. At least a dozen rounds were fired. Bullets hit the girl and the man and they were both taken to the hospital. They died not long after.
A bullet also grazed a young woman in the home. She was taken to the hospital as well and is expected to recover.
Based on the evidence gathered so far, Sheriff Tregre said investigators “believe this was a targeted, planned attack” that was likely “not random.”
Saturday, he identified the victims as 11-year-old Samiya McClain and 50-year-old Ron Tate. He confirmed Tate was the owner of the home where the shooting took place and McClain was Tate’s niece.
Bullets also hit “multiple” nearby cars. One belongs to Maryann Wancket, who lives across the street and woke up to a broken rear window. “My neighbor told me to look and my window was shot out,” she said.
As of Saturday, no suspects have been named.
The St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone with information to contact “St. John Parish Sheriff's Office Det. Sgt. Vince Smith at 504-494-3696 or 985-359-8763. Citizens can also call the St. John Sheriff's Office.
TIPS line at 985-359-TIPS, Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or submit a tip on the Sheriff's Office website https://stjohnsheriff.org/give-us-a-general-crime-tip/”
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