HAHNVILLE, La. (WGNO) — Neighbors in Hahnville were left shaken up Tuesday evening after four people were shot, ultimately killing a 20-year-old man. The shooting is what detectives are calling a “retaliation crime” that followed a triple shooting on Monday.
Around 6 p.m. Tuesday, St. Charles Parish deputies responded to a report of gunfire in the 200 block of Hahn Street between Pine and Sycamore streets. It was there that deputies found three young men who had been shot several times, including one who was pronounced dead on the scene.
On Thursday, the SCPSO identified the deceased victim as 20-year-old Jerome Cunningham Jr. Reporter Amy Russo spoke to three people who feared that it was their loved one who was killed.
“I got a call from my cousin, still in disbelief,” explained Markquell Stewart, the believed victim’s brother. “My little brother just made 20, was just getting started, and to get news like this, I don’t know what I feel. I don’t know what I feel.”
Nearby on Sycamore Street, a 16-year-old male victim was also revealed to have been shot in the incident. Along with the other victims, ages 19 and 20, the teen was treated at the scene and taken to an area hospital. Further details regarding their injuries were unavailable.
The sheriff’s office says an early investigation revealed the shooting could be part of a retaliation cycle following a fatal shootout just two days earlier. According to police reports, 25-year-old Kevin Labranch and two others were shot on LA 3127 as gunfire rang out between Labranch’s car and another vehicle on Monday night. Labranch died at the scene.
The SCPSO is urging anyone with any information to contact Det. Kevin Tennison at:
- (985) 783-1135
- (985) 783-6807
- ktennison@stcharlessheriff.org
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling 1-877-903-STOP. Those with information do not need to give their name or testify and could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,500.