WESTWEGO, La. (WGNO) — The man killed in the New Year’s Eve shooting in Westwego was an innocent bystander, the Jefferson Parish sheriff says.
The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office identified the the man as 32-year-old Corey Warmington, Jr., of Westwego.
“Really sad situation. Jefferson Parish has been really lucky this year,” said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto. “We ended the year with 31 homicides, compared to 49 the year before. So, we were having a pretty peaceful year when it comes down to it, but this one kind of just hits home.”
A recent development revealed that the shooting was the result of a vehicle being stolen in the 9000 block of Cindy Drive.
Deputies say the vehicle’s owner located the car in the 900 block of Beechgrove Boulevard in a parking lot. She reportedly called the sheriff’s office, who came out to process and recover the vehicle, and then left.
“That owner was waiting to get a key made to be able to recover the vehicle and take the vehicle back,” Lopinto said. “While that person was there, she was encountered by several male suspects, presumably the suspects who stole her vehicle.”
The suspects then started shooting towards her, but she wasn’t hit.
A stray bullet, however, pierced an apartment window and fatally struck Warmington.
“Completely innocent victim,” the sheriff said. “Doesn’t appear they were involved with the stolen vehicle or with the recovery of that vehicle. Just happened to be inside his apartment itself.”
Lopinto says investigators believe the suspects frequent the area and is asking anyone with information to come forward.
“The reality of it is I have faith in my detectives, that they’ll go out and do the hard work in order to be able to solve it, but the quicker that we can get them in custody, the better it is,” Lopinto said. “Again, it’s just a tragic situation from that standpoint, to lose somebody so close to the New Year, and especially in this way.”
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Homicide Section at (504)-364-5300 or Crimestoppers at (504)-822-1111.
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