KILLONA, La. — The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigation a deadly shooting in the small Westbank town of Killona.
Neighbors say it sounded like a machine gun went off in front of Scott’s grocery store in the 100 block of Killona Drive.
Charlotte Lewis says a group of young men were standing near the front door when suddenly, bullets started flying.
“A guy just walked up on them and started shooting and five guys got shot, which two was my nephews and one of my nephews is deceased at this time,” Lewis said.
Lewis’s nephew, Darzil Washington,29, was killed and another nephew, Darville Washington, 32, was injured and remains in critical condition.
Kermit Rudolph heard the shots.
“Somebody must have come up on the side of the store when they were sitting there are shot and ran off after they shot them and ran through the park and left, drove off in a car,” Rudolph said.
Sheriff Champagne called it an “ambush shooting.”
He’s not sure the number of shooter, but suspects the gunfire may be related to a group of criminals who have been terrorizing St. Charles, St. John and St. James Parishes for the past year and a half.
“I think it’s safe to say we have been dealing with an inter parish group of I don’t know what the proper word would be, family, clan, gang, cliques of individuals who are engaged in a cycle of violence, retaliation for violence and it continues. It’s been going on for months,” Champagne said.
The sheriff confirmed a total of five people were struck by gunfire, including a 14-year-old boy.
He says his detectives are not getting a lot of information about the shooting.
Champagne warned what could happen if the cycle of violence and retaliation continues.
“You’re going to end up with a situation much like you had in New Orleans a couple of years ago where you’re going to have an infant who takes a bullet that goes through a mobile home or something of that nature," Champagne said. “That’s coming. That’s next and infant is going to be killed or maybe two are going to be killed.”
Family members of the murdered man pleaded for those responsible for the shooting to turn themselves in.
“You took and innocent soul’s life behind a gun and it doesn’t make sense,” Lewis said. “It hurts to see that this has to go on in this little community. We are a small community and it hurts to see that people got to come with violence and take innocent people’s lives like this. It’s crazy.”
Sheriff Champagne said the group of individuals he believes were behind the Killona shooting are also responsible for about a dozen violent crimes in the River Parish. That includes an recent shooting on I-310.
Anyone with information on this shooting is asked to contact Det. Amanda Buchanan at 985-783-6807 or call CRIMESTOPPERS at 504-822-1111.