NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police announced the arrest of a second suspect in the shooting death of a 23-year-old man and his 3-year-old brother in a triple shooting in Algiers earlier this month, and asked the community to help locate a third suspect believed to be involved.
NOPD officials say 23-year-old Rodney Steadman was arrested In Houston, Texas on two charges of second-degree murder and one charge of attempted second-degree murder.
He is the older brother of 19-year-old Ronjae Steadman, who was arrested after the shooting, which killed the two brothers and injured their 48-year-old mother.
Police say the shooting that started the incident happened around 7:20 p.m. on May 11 near Vespasian Boulevard and Leboeuf Street.
Investigators say the three family members were at the intersection when a car drove up and someone started shooting at them.
Police believe the Steadman brothers and 19-year-old Razaq Adekunle were responsible for that shooting.
Police say officers saw a car driven by Ronjae Steadman and Adekunle fleeing the scene, and pursued the vehicle.
"The occupants crashed and jumped into a second vehicle," said NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.
The pair crashed, and quickly moved to another car, kidnapping the occupant and forcing them to drive away from the scene.
Ferguson said the suspects "bailed" in the 6400 block of General Meyer Avenue and Steadman was immediately apprehended. Adekunle escaped and remains at large.
All three suspects face charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. The younger Steadman and Adekunle face an additional charge of second-degree kidnapping for their alleged role in stealing the occupied car.
The city's police chief said Friday that Adekunle's last known address was in Algiers, and urged anybody with information about him to come forward.
"He was the second suspect who fled," Ferguson said. "We're asking our community to help us locate this third subject."
More Stories:
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.