BOGALUSA, La. — According to Bogalusa Police, a 14-year-old is dead after a shooting outside a high school basketball game Thursday night. The Bogalusa Mayor is now putting pressure on the city council to do something to end gun violence across the city.
Bogalusa Police say the shooting happened outside Bogalusa High School around 8:40 p.m. Thursday. It happened while the basketball team was playing Covington High School.
Acting Police Chief Troy Tervalon told WWL Louisiana, "It was two juveniles, a 14-year-old and a 13-year-old. Sadly the 14-year-old lost his life to this tragic incident, the city is saddened our hearts are grieving for the family."
The acting police chief said the 13-year-old is home and recovering. He says the teens were at the game and had just walked outside. Police are looking for two shooters and say they live in the area, and say 25 shots were fired.
"Investigation is moving forward, we're following up on many leads, we're interviewing some witnesses, we have a lot of video footage that we have to go through," said Tervalon.
Bogalusa Mayor Tryin Truong is calling the city council into special sessions all next week, to discuss ways they can reduce gun violence across the city.
At a press conference, the Mayor said, "Outside of being the Mayor, I am a father, I am a brother, I'm a neighbor, so this really hits home."
The Mayor went on to say, "It's the city council's job to help legislate, they are the legislative body of our city they have to start producing ideas on how they can help the rest of the city." He's calling for the city council to invest more money into the city's youth.
"We need more resources for these teenagers in town. We have to put more money behind prevention so we're not just being reactive, we're being proactive," said the Mayor.
Bogalusa Superintendent Dr. Byron Hurst said the district will be beefing up security and all games usually played at the the high school will now be played away or at a neutral site.
Dr. Hurst said, "As a precaution, we will provide extra security for Bogalusa High School when school resumes on Tuesday and grief counselors will be available for all students and staff."
Bogalusa police urge anyone with any information to contact police or Crimestoppers.
