WGNO

Bogalusa police ask public to help identify people of interest in connection to fatal shooting

BOGALUSA, La. (WGNO) — Witnesses of Friday night’s fatal shooting outside of Bogalusa high School’s homecoming football game recall the horrifying moments the gunshots rang out.

“The more traumatized that I am is more of seeing the children, and I realized they were actually climbing the fence at the ball game trying to, you know, get away,” said an anonymous witness.

According to Bogalusa police, a shootout happened right outside of the lumberjacks football game where about 20 rounds were fired. Police say one of the people involved in the shooting, 15-year-old Jerry Smith of Covington, was killed.

“The victim in this, unfortunately, was a suspect a week prior in a shooting that we had here in town and we think that this shooting was retaliation for that shooting,” said Chief Kendall Bullen with the Bogalusa Police Department.

Police provided us surveillance video from Friday night and are looking to identify the two men closest to your screen. Chief Bullen says both men are people of interest in the case.

Bullen also says there were several other shootings reported around town Sunday night but says no one was injured.

Mayor Wendy Perrette says other law enforcement agencies are helping beef up security in Bogalusa and has this message to those bringing violent crime into the city.

“We don’t want you here. We have more good people than we do bad people in our city and you’re not going to our weigh us, we’re going to get rid of you first, you’re not going to get rid of us,” said Mayor Perrette.

If you recognize the men seen in the surveillance video or know anything about Friday’s fatal shooting, you can anonymously report a tip by calling police or downloading the Bogalusa Police Department app.