JENNINGS — Law enforcement in Jefferson Davis Parish is asking for the public’s help identifying a suspect accused of stealing a truck and shooting a 17-year-old multiple times during a drive-by early Saturday morning.
According to Jennings Assistant Police Chief Nate Anderson, officers responded to a shots-fired call around 1:16 a.m. near the intersection of Hobart and Bryan streets.
A 17-year-old boy was walking in the area when someone in a gray 2008 Chevrolet Silverado opened fire, striking him five times. The teenager was airlifted to a hospital in Lafayette, where he remains in stable but critical condition.
Investigators later determined that the Silverado had been reported stolen approximately an hour earlier, at 12:14 a.m., from the area of Norwood Drive and Academy Avenue. The vehicle was recovered abandoned near Highways 1126 and 102.
No suspects were found at the scene.
A bicycle was also discovered, and police believe the suspect may have ridden it to the location before stealing the truck and later using it in the shooting.
“This is a very serious matter,” Anderson said. “We’re asking residents near Norwood, Bryan Street, and Hobart to review any home or business security camera footage from early Saturday morning and report anything that looks unusual.”
If you have video footage or tips that may be related to the case, you’re asked to call the Jennings Police Department at (337) 821-5500, extension 500.
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Residents near the old Jennings High school are being asked to check their front door cameras in hopes of finding an attempted murder and carjacking suspect.
According to Jennings Police, a suspect was riding a bicycle around 11 p.m. Friday night near Academy and Norwood streets. The person stole a GMC truck, then used that truck in a drive-by shooting on Hobart Street.
That happened around 1:15 a.m. on Saturday, and left a 17-year-old in critical condition. The teen was walking on Hobart Street when someone in the stolen truck shot him five times, police say.
Police believe the suspect may have ditched the bicycle near where he stole the truck.
Chief Danny Semmes is asking residents to check their door cams (between the hours of 11-1130 pm Friday) to see if they captured surveillance of the suspect riding his bicycle in the neighborhood. The victim of the carjacking could only describe the suspect as a young man with a slender build.
Detectives have obtained videos of the actual shooting and collected DNA evidence from the truck after it was found ditched on Highway 26, but evidence processing takes time.
Chief Semmes is hoping to speed up that process with video evidence that helps to positively identify the shooter.
If anyone has more information about this case or relevant video footage from that evening, contact the police department at (337) 821-5500, extension 500.
