PONCHATOULA — A pastor and staff member at St. Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge is in critical condition after he was one of three siblings injured in a Ponchatoula shooting that started with a family argument.
According to the Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office, Casey Hallford, 31, got a gun from his bedroom at the residence in Toula Oaks Trailer Park on South Range Road and allegedly shot all three of his siblings before fleeing to a nearby wooded area with 19-year-old Arianni Williams.
All three victims were taken to a hospital, where two were released.
TPSO deputies responded to the call around 11 a.m. on May 25 following a report of shots fired. Officials say the caller described hearing 15 gunshots and saw a man lying on the ground.
Officials tell UWK that Ryan Hallford owned the mobile home, and his brother Casey was staying with him. Before the argument began, the two other siblings came over for a family discussion.
Authorities say Casey Hallford allegedly shot the sibling he was arguing with. That sent the other two siblings running to bedrooms before Hallford allegedly “individually sought them out, shot them, and fled.”
Deputies and a K9 search team quickly found Hallford and Williams and they were arrested without incident.
TPSO says Hallford has been charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of illegal discharge of a weapon, while Williams has been charged with three counts of principle to attempted first-degree murder.
Ryan Hallford formerly served as a pastor at Holy Family Catholic Church. He is St. Joseph Academy’s executive director of mission integration. He continues fighting for his life.
Hallford grew up in the Slidell area in St. Tammany Parish and was a 2002 graduate of Northshore High.
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