CENTRAL — A St. Francisville man is facing five counts of attempted first-degree murder after allegedly firing several shots at a family gathering in Central on Sunday afternoon.
Antonio Harris Jr., 26, was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison and is being held on a $750,000 bond.
Argument turns shootout
According to an arrest document, Harris drove past a house on Golden Gate Ave. “several times” before stopping and getting into an argument with two people, one of whom he had a previous relationship with. Witnesses say that Harris, who stayed in his vehicle, had a handgun “on his lap” during the argument.
After exchanging words, Harris allegedly began firing his gun at the victim as he drove away. The document states that some of the people at the party started shooting back at Harris “in self-defense.”
No one was injured during the gunfight, and Harris was arrested three days later. No one else has been charged in the shooting.
One witness tells Unfiltered with Kiran that one of the bullets went through the front door of a home in the neighborhood, and another bullet hit someone’s vehicle.
Family fights turn violent
This was the second shootout during a family gathering this week. On Monday, Baton Rouge police arrested a man accused of shooting and killing one sister and badly injuring another during a family fight.
Gerald McDowell, 29, got into a verbal altercation during a family gathering on Geronimo St. on April 24, BRPD says. During that fight, Gerald allegedly grabbed a shotgun and shot and killed his sister Kevineisha McDowell, 18. Sources say that his other sister, a 27-year-old who has not yet been identified, was the other woman shot during the altercation. She’s now listed in stable condition at a local hospital.
Kevineisha was reportedly trying to break up the fight when she was shot in the head. She died at the scene. The other sister was reportedly shot multiple times.
Sources say that Gerald fled the scene before police arrived. He’s been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first degree murder and illegal use of a weapon.
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