NEW ORLEANS — Authorities are asking for the public’s help to find a “vehicle of interest” after a deadly shooting on Interstate 10 in New Orleans that left a young mother dead.
The New Orleans Police Department shared photos on Monday of a burgundy Volkswagen Atlas SUV, which it called a “vehicle of interest” in the slaying. Police say the car did not have a license plate and was previously reported stolen in a separate incident on Jan. 13.
The shooting, which claimed the life of 34-year-old Whitney Wilson, happened on Jan. 18 near the Crowder Boulevard exit on I-10. Wilson was reportedly driving with her daughter in the car when she was shot multiple times.
Wilson’s sister-in-law, Reone Watts, was on the phone with her at the time of the shooting.
“I am at a loss for words,” Watts said. “I was on facetime… I heard my niece screaming in the background telling her mom to wake up.”
The NOPD has not said if investigators believe that the shooting was random or a targeted attack. Wilson’s family members said there was no reason for her to be targeted, and they think that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“She’s not even that type of person. Maybe it could be a mistaken identity because of the car, but I don’t know,” Watts said.
Anyone with information about the shooting or the car’s whereabouts is asked to call NOPD homicide detective Maurice Stewart at 504-658-5300. They can also report information anonymously to Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111.
► 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.