Bourbon Street Shooting In New Orleans Leaves Several Injured - Mass Shooting - Not a Gun Free Zone

Huffington Post

Louisiana 18-Year-old Shot while Dirt Biking

Local news reports

An 18-year-old man who was shot in the head Saturday while riding a dirt bike in Schriever survived the incident, and authorities believe he was the victim of an accidental shooting, possibly from someone target shooting in the area.

The 18-year-old victim had indeed been shot in the back of the head, and was taken by ambulance to Thibodaux Regional Hospital, said the sheriff's office. After undergoing surgery at the hospital, the man was release Saturday evening. His injuries are not life threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery.

During the investigation detectives learned that the field where the man was shot is an area where people go to shoot guns for target practice, said the sheriff's office, but they have not been able to locate the shooter. 

Louisiana 5-Year-old Dead - No Charges

Local news reports

 Five-year-old Jon-Qualon Pitre, critically injured when he was shot in the head in an incident at his home Thursday, was taken off life support and died at our lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge Saturday. 

    Opelousas Police Chief Perry Gallow said the boy was shot in the head as he and his 7-year-old brother apparently were playing with a gun in the yard of his home in the 500 block of martin Luther king Dr.

     Police recovered the weapon, a .22-caliber, long-barrel revolver, at the scene.

     Gallow said "the best information they have is that only two people were in the yard at the time of the shooting, the 5-year-old and his 7-year-old brother".

     He adds no charges are currently being contemplated.

Louisiana Shooting Rampage - Not a Gun-Free Zone

Ben Freeman


The Guardian

A south Louisiana man attacked his former in-laws, his current wife, and the head of a hospital where he had worked, killing three before killing himself, authorities said.

The shootings happened at four locations in two parishes about 45 miles south-west of New Orleans on Thursday. The first report came about 6.40pm, when Lafourche parish councilman Louis Phillip Gouaux — who was shot in the throat — called 911 from his home in Lockport, Houma, Louisiana, the Courier newspaper reported.

The suspect, Ben Freeman, 38, was the ex-husband of Gouaux's daughter Jeanne, Lafourche parish sheriff's office spokesman, Brennan Matherne, said in a news release.

Gouaux's wife, Susan "Pixie" Gouaux, was dead when deputies arrived, Matherne said. Louis Phillip Gouaux and his daughter, Andrea Gouaux, were injured and taken to University Hospital in New Orleans. Both were in critical but stable condition, Matherne said.

About 20 minutes later in Raceland, Ochsner St Anne general hospital administrator Milton Bourgeois was shot and killed at close range at his home, Matherne said. His wife, Ann Bourgeois, was shot and taken to the New Orleans hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.

Raceland police said Bourgeois was shot at close range and his wife was shot in the leg.

Colbert's Take on the Duck Dynasty Business

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Bumbling Louisiana Hunter Kills his Buddy - No Biggie - Just Be More Careful Next Time

Local news reports

Joseph H. Stevens Jr., 33, was killed in what is believed to be an accidental shooting while on a hunting trip with Stacey M. Trapp, 37.

According to Trapp, as the two walked back to their cars and came across a net-wire fence.

As they walked along the fence searching for an easier way through Trapp squatted down to go under some bushes with his rifle slung over his shoulder when the weapon accidentally fired and fatally shot Stevens. 

Investigators do not suspect foul play at this time.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries advises hunters to use basic hunting safety procedures while going to and from hunting locations, including keeping the gun on safe and not having any bullets or shells in the chamber.

US Prison Population - Louisiana Leads the Pack

U.S. Incarceration Rates & Prison Statistics Infographic by Prison Path

If you enlarge the image you'll see that Louisiana has by far the most prisoners. Considering that they do not have the most people, the rate of incarceration there is incredible. Yet, they also rank number one in murders and violence. How can this be?  The gun-rights fanatics tell us the problem is not with the lack of gun laws but with the fact that we don't keep dangerous people in prison long enough.

Obviously this isn't the case in Louisiana.

It is true that many of those incarcerated shouldn't be there.  But the estimate of non-violent drug offenders is only about 25%. Remove them and the US still wears the crown as the most prison-friendly country in the world and Louisiana still holds the state record.

Louisiana 8-Year-old Dead - No Charges

Local news reports

An 8 year old in the Beekman community was accidentally shot and killed Friday. 

Morehouse Parish Sheriff Mike Tubbs reports that just before 5 p.m. Friday, deputies were called to a home on Vaughn Road in Beekman.

There, officers found an 8 year old boy had been fatally shot, and his 14 year old brother was the only person at the scene. Sheriff Tubbs says the accident was caused by the mishandling of a shotgun.

The case remains under investigation and Child Protective Services has been contacted.

Shooting of Louisiana Pastor Followed Rape Allegation

Chicago Tribune and further to our post at the time of the shooting

A pastor shot to death last week at his church in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was accused of rape just days before by the wife of the man who was charged with his killing, authorities said on Monday.

Ronald Harris Sr. was shot as he preached to about 50 to 60 people at a service on Friday evening at the Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center, according to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office.

Woodrow Karey, 53, of Lake Charles is being held on a second degree murder charge in connection with the pastor's death.

On September 25, Karey's wife filed a rape complaint against Harris, according to a statement released on Monday by the sheriff's office.

Investigators are looking into the "possibility of a relationship" between Harris and the wife of Karey and whether that may have prompted the shooting, according to the sheriff's office.

Louisiana Pastor Shot and Killed in Front of Congregation

Woodrow Karey, Jr. is being held on $1 million bond in the shooting death of a preacher.

Fox News

A gunman walked into a Louisiana nighttime revival service Friday night and opened fire on a pastor while he was preaching in front of about 60 people and then, after the pastor fell, stood over him and fired at least one more round in front of the terrified congregation, authorities told FoxNews.com. 

Pastor Ronald J. Harris Sr. was inside the Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center in Lake Charles at about 8:20 p.m. Authorities said Woodrow Karey, 53, walked into the building with a shotgun and opened fire. Harris was pronounced dead at the scene and Karey fled, authorities said.

Louisiana Rated Worst State For Women

Huffington Post

Women in the United States earn an average of 77 cents for every dollar that men make, face many barriers to reproductive health care and are significantly underrepresented in leadership roles. But the worst state for women by far is Louisiana, according to a state-by-state examination of these issues released Wednesday by the Center for American Progress.

In terms of economic security, health and leadership representation, the analysis ratesLouisiana the lowest. Full-time working women in Louisiana earn only 67 percent of what men earn, on average, and more than one in five women and girls in Louisiana are currently living in poverty.

Only 12 percent of Louisiana's congressional seats are held by women, and the state has one of the top 10 worst maternal mortality rates in the country. There is only one OB-GYN for every 13,136 women in Louisiana, and nearly 20 percent of non-elderly women in the state are uninsured. Louisiana also requires an ultrasound, waiting period and counseling session before a woman can have an abortion.

More Fun With States - The Corruption Index

Business Insider

This weekend, the New York Times' Nick Madigan called Florida a "hothouse of corruption," reporting the Sunshine State saw the greatest number of people convicted of public corruption between 2000 and 2010.

That's technically true. But it's not the full story.

To get a true sense of the most corrupt state, we need to know how many convictions there have been on a population basis.

So we went back to Justice Department data cited by Madigan, to see which states saw the greatest number of convictions per 100,000 (Madigan actually appears to cite slightly outdated data; the latest covers the period between 2002 and 2011).

No. 1? Louisiana, with nearly 9 convictions per 100,000 people.

The states with the fewest conviction rates were South Carolina, Oregon, Washington, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Utah, each with no more than 1.3 convictions per 100,000. 

And Florida? Only the 20th-most corrupt, with 3.28 convictions per 100,000 — basically, just a bit above average.

Louisiana 8-Year-old Shoots and Kills 90-Year-old Caregiver

WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

Louisiana has Three Times the National Average of Child Shooting Deaths

Local news reports

In December, a 13-year-old Ascension Parish boy was shot in the head, and his 14-year-old friend was arrested for killing him by accident when playing with a stolen .38 after smoking marijuana.

Within the month, three other similar shootings shook Baton Rouge — an alarming enough trend to prompt the district attorney and coroner there to issue a public health alert.

In New Orleans in June, 5-year-old Brandajah Smith's mother locked her alone in the house. Police say the kindergartner found a .38-caliber revolver stashed under a pillow, put it to her forehead and pulled the trigger.

The grim stories are not anomalies. The rate at which children are inadvertently shot to death in Louisiana is three times the American average. Between 2007 and 2011, at least 89 kids in Louisiana were killed in what is classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the accidental discharge of weapons.

"Often times these shootings are referred to as accidental shootings. This is not correct. These are not accidents," Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar C. Moore III and Coroner William "Beau" Clark wrote in their joint statement. "They are foreseeable injuries and deaths that can occur whenever the adult owners of these firearms leave them unsecured where children and young adults can access them."

The article goes on to explain how the laws in Louisiana are so slanted towards extreme gun rights that advocates easily "killed legislative efforts to legally mandate that its citizens keep guns away from kids. During the past Legislative session, a bill requiring guns to be stored in a safe or equipped with trigger locks died without fanfare."

This is what gun rights are all about. Freedom.

Another interesting perspective comes accross in this story.  Louisiana has three times the national average of child gun deaths.  But when the biased gun nuts quote the insignificantly small numbers of deaths they include places like New Jersey where there are many times fewer incidents.

They should restrict their comments to places like Louisiana where they enjoy the kind of freedom they want with all its resultant misery.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Lawful Louisiana Gun Owner Charged with Negligent Homicide - AR-15 Used

Local news reports

A 16-year-old is dead after being shot in the neck by an acquaintance holding an AR-15 rifle.

Police tell WWL-TV a 23-year-old was showing a group of people the newly-acquired weapon at around 1:00 a.m. in the 200 block of James Drive in Marrero when the incident happened.

The gun owner later told police he didn't know there was a round in the chamber, and "that he pulled the trigger to clear the weapon and it went off, striking the victim in the neck," according to WWL-TV.

Emergency responders prounounced the teen dead on the scene.

Update:  JPSO (Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office) Spokesman Col. John Fortunato says Christian Cardon, who police say admitted firing the weapon, was booked this morning with one count of negligent homicide. 

Forgetting there's one in the chamber happen more often in states like Louisiana.  And pulling the trigger to clear the chamber while aiming at another person takes a special kind of intelligence and gun-safety training.

If there were proper screening and qualifying done before issuing a gun ownership license, many incidents like this would be avoided.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

1 killed, 1 injured in Baton Rouge with Gun Stolen from a Cop

AP Report 

A murder in Baton Rouge was committed with a gun stolen from a New Orleans' cop's car last year.

This is why keeping a gun in the car is unsafe.

People who allow their guns to be stolen should be held responsible for that. The argument I keep hearing is this is blaming the victim or that only the thief is responsible.

Wrong on both counts. The cop in this case was guilty of not properly storing his firearm. The thief was responsible for the theft. It took both of them to ack badly for this to happen, and a year later people died.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Baton Rouge - 7th Murder in 7 Days

Red Stick News

Baton Rouge Police are investigating a shooting that left a teenager dead Wednesday night. It was the city’s 7th homicide in the past 7 days.

The victim of this incident was Cameron Phillips, 16, of Baton Rouge. The shooting took place at 2100 Vickers Drive near Belaire High School around 10:00 last night. That location is less than half a mile from another homicide that occurred about 14 hours prior on N. Sherwood Forest.

Investigators currently have no suspects and no motive for either of the shootings.

This murder makes the 35th homicide in Baton Rouge for 2013. See the full list here.

As opposed to Chicago, which is improving, Baton Rouge is getting worse.  The reason for both is the gun laws or the lack thereof.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.
 

Louisiana Man Arrested Immediately for Accidental Shooting Death

Local news reports

A Harvey man is in custody in connection with a fatal shooting that he described as an accident, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. 

Around midnight on Monday, just before the shooting, Phillip McClendon, 28, and another man were drinking in the victim’s garage, according to a witness.

When McClendon was interviewed by investigators, he said the shooting of Robert Casbon, 32, was accidental.

The gun has not been recovered, according to JPSO.

McClendon was transported to the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center and booked with negligent homicide and possession of a handgun as a felon.

He is currently on parole for a narcotics violation and aggravated battery.

There are a few ways to ensure that you're arrested immediately for a negligent discharge. This guy had all of them.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Louisiana Proves that More Guns Don't Make us Safer

MSNBC

For Louisiana, the stakes could not be higher: it has the worst gun murder rate in the nation, and the highest rate of children killed with guns. Overall, guns have been used to kill more people in Louisiana in recent years than in any other state, according to a new analysis.

Between 2001 and 2010, 4,519 people were killed by guns here, more than a thousand more losses than U.S. combat troops suffered during the Iraq War. More than 75% of those victims were African-American. Haunted by the losses, members of the Black Caucus try again and again to introduce some measure of gun control legislation.

But their efforts are always thwarted while a far more powerful group of Republicans and white Democrats stokes Louisiana’s love affair with guns.

Guns are everywhere. On Mother’s Day, a shooting broke out at a New Orleans parade and two children were among 20 people wounded by gunfire. People were injured during a shooting after the Martin Luther King Day parade, and at another just before Mardi Gras festivities.

Yet the pro-gun beat is only getting louder.

“In Louisiana, as we’ve seen for a few years now, they are introducing legislation to allow more people to carry more guns in more places,” said Brian Malte, director of policy and advocacy for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

“If more guns mean a safer society, Louisiana would be the state with the lowest rates of gun violence. In fact, it has one of the highest because of a lack of gun violence prevention laws.”

Why is that?  Why is Louisiana so much worse than the rest of the country if more guns make us safer?

Let me take a stab at that one?  The "more guns make us safer" suggestion is a blatant lie propagated by the leaders of the gun-rights movement and repeated over and over again by the sheep-like followers who often don't even think for themselves.  If they did, they'd immediately see the foolishness of such a position.  Louisiana is proof.

Allow me to anticipate one of the common retorts we often hear. The above chart and its article is concerned with "gun" murders. When we remove the "gun" part, guess which state is still on top.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Baton Rouge Teen Dead - 16-Year-old Charged

Today's Accidental Shootings via Laci

A 16-year-old suspect was charged with negligent homicide after accidentally shooting a 17-year-old male on the 1500 block of N. 24th St. around 3 p.m.

Police say the two teens were playing with a handgun when it discharged, hitting the victim in the back.

The victim has been identified as Marcus Williams of 474 Bernardo Drive. He was pronounced dead a local hospital due to a gunshot wound to his back he sustained from the shooting.

Down Louisiana way you don't want to shoot people by accident and be black too. That'll get you arrested every time.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.