BOGALUSA, La. — Using the stage name “JayDaYoungan,” Javorious Scott, 24, made a name for himself as a rapper in his hometown of Bogalusa. His rise in music ended Wednesday night, when police say he was shot multiple times outside a home on Superior Avenue.
Family members say his father, Kenyatta Scott Sr., was also shot. He’s expected to survive.
“It’s sad. This is Bogalusa. It’s a small community,” said Bogalusa Police Chief Kendall Bullen.
Bullen says while on the scene, there was a second shooting, just minutes away. An SUV was shot up near the intersection of Marshall Richardson and Ott Roads.
Ray McGowan’s home was hit by several bullets in the process.
“I was watching TV and heard about seven or eight shots and so I just dove on the floor,” McGowan said.
McGowan pointed out at least five bullet holes in the side of his home, at least two going through the wall of his bedroom.
“This is where I would have been laying,” said McGowan as he pointed to a particular bullet hole. “This is where my bed is at. It hit my pillow.”
Later Wednesday night, there was a third shooting near Our Lady of the Angels Hospitals were Bullen says a house was shot up. No one was hurt.
“This shooting ended in car pursuit where suspects bailed, threw their weapons out,” Bullen said. “We were able to recover three long guns that were involved in the shooting.”
Bullen says all three shootings are connected and part of a larger violent problem.
“It appears sometimes a lot of our shootings and things in the young community are on opposite sides of the rappers they follow and support,” Bullen said.
This isn’t the first deadly shooting involving a rapper in the city. Police say a rivalry between two rap groups led to the murder of rapper Michael Brock, 19, hiding out in Bogalusa last summer.
“There are young people losing their lives for nonsense, because they disagree with each other,” Bullen said.
McGowan says it’s upsetting to know young people are involved in such violence.
“It’s sad. It’s sad man,” McGowan said.
Investigators have connected Scott to crimes involving gang rivalries in parts of rural Louisiana in recent months. According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Scott was sentenced to prison in June for possession of a firearm while under indictment or felony. He had been under indictment for a felony crime in Harris County, Texas. A judge sentenced him to time served after seven months in prison in the Louisiana case.
In addition, our partners at The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate reported that Tangipahoa deputies booked Scott on Sept. 16 on a warrant for accessory to second-degree murder and obstruction of justice, saying he helped a key murder suspect in a Roseland shooting evade law enforcement.
With a large social media following, more than 2.8 million followers on Instagram, tributes for Scott haven’t stopped since the news of this death. Thursday afternoon family members gathered outside the home where both men were shot.
They didn’t want to speak on camera but say Scott cared about his family and was focused on his 2-year-old son, who he now leaves behind.
Bullen says suspects have been identified in the second and third shootings and warrants have been issued. Police are still working on suspects related to the first one that killed Scott. City leaders are pleading for anyone with information to come forward.
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