Two female college students were killed during a shooting around 2 a.m. Sunday morning outside a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, apartment building. Investigators have identified the victims as Lashuntae Benton and Annette January, both 19.
Baton Rouge Police Sergeant Don Coppola Jr. said the two women were innocent bystanders that were caught in the crossfire during a gunfight between 22-year-old Ernest Bernard Felton and another man.
UPDATE: Suspect in Baton Rouge shooting was a member of SU’s football team in 2012. https://t.co/PiSeGo1mM6 pic.twitter.com/WwXpxmawSh
— Sherman Desselle Fox 26 (@ShermanDesselle) April 11, 2016
When police arrived, they found the two women and the other man had been hit by gunfire. Benton was declared dead at the scene, while January died later at a local hospital. The Chicago Tribune reports that the second gunman was injured, but is expected to survive.
Felton was arrested and now faces charges of attempted second-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon. He has not been charged in the deaths of the two women.
Investigators are now waiting for a ballistics report to determine who fired the fatal shots that killed Benton and January. The shootout occurred outside The Cottages of Baton Rouge apartment complex.
While Benton and January were attending a party outside the complex near Louisiana State University, a 24-year-old man drove up in a Chevrolet Cobalt. Witnesses told police that Felton started an altercation with the man by shooting at the vehicle as it approached.
One witness was driving into the complex near the clubhouse just before the Baton Rouge shooting happened. He said there were around 20 people blocking the road and was forced to turn down a side road to avoid the commotion.
One student said large parties are common in the complex and often attract people who are not a part of the university. Police report no one else at the gathering was carrying a weapon.
https://www.facebook.com/sandra.washington.543/posts/10209913515413260
Annette January was a freshman at Southern University and an aspiring member of the track and field team, earning more than 100 medals. She had received a full scholarship from the university and had an interest in criminal psychology and business administration. The young woman graduated last year from the Thea Bowman Leadership Academy in Gary, Indiana.
“This sickens me, this disrespect for human life,” said Sarita Stevens, the academy’s principal. “A child leaves home with a plan and was doing the right thing, and she still falls victim to violence. We cannot accept this.”
The other victim, Lashuntae Benton, was from Lake Charles, Louisiana, and lived in a dormitory on Southern’s campus. She was a sophomore and athletic trainer.
“My baby was a very vibrant child, a beautiful child with a beautiful heart,” said Benton’s mother, Theresa Tillman. “Everybody loved her.”
Lashuntae played softball, track, and volleyball in high school and studied sports medicine at the university, added Tillman.
https://www.facebook.com/donovan.thierry/posts/1351744281518963
Felton played football as a defensive back for Southern during the 2012 season. Prior to attending the university, he played at Jackson High School in Miami, Florida. Felton had received a football scholarship from Southern, but only played in one game.
Flags were lowered to half-mast in memory of Benton and January on Southern’s Baton Rouge campus. A moment of silence was observed at the university’s home baseball game against Grambling on Sunday.
“Everybody’s hearts are broken,” said Southern student Janae Williams. “Even people who don’t really know them, they’re really heartbroken that this happened in our community and to our students — successful students, a track athlete and a trainer. Everybody is upset, but everybody is giving heartfelt apologies and prayers to the families.”
The Baton Rouge Police Department is continuing their investigation into the shooting that killed Lashuntae Benton and Annette January. Ernest Bernard Felton is being held in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a $90,000 bond.
[Photo by AP Photo/Gerald Herbert]
