BATON ROUGE — An attempted armed robbery resulted in three people shot on May 15th at a home on N 24th Street in broad daylight. One of the three people shot dedicated his life to bettering Mid City and has now become a victim to a crime in that very part of town. He is now telling his story about that fateful shooting in Mid City.
Robert (Robby) McKey, an employee with the nonprofit Mid City Redevelopment Alliance, has multiple wounds from the recent shooting, including gunshots in the mouth and arm.
Since that morning, McKey was with his stepfather and another volunteer of the organization digging holes for fence posts at a home. Several hours later, while the group was working on attaching pickets to the posts, McKey’s friend pointed out two people walking down the street coming toward them.
“One had on a black hoodie, and the other was wearing what’s known as a “Pooh Shiesty” mask—only the eyes and the bridge of the nose were visible,” McKey told UWK.
The men started talking to McKey and the others about helping with work, but McKey told them that they’d have to fill out a waiver form, which couldn’t happen until next week. He said that then the men said they were hungry and asked for money, but he told them he didn’t carry any cash.
That’s when things escalated, he said.
“They started showing us their guns and talking about how they “end” people they have beef with,” McKey explained. “They asked if we knew what kind of guns they were holding. My friend did, and that seemed to encourage them. They began acting like they were about to fire them off. I asked them not to, telling them I didn’t want to deal with the police.”
One of the men allegedly then said, “Man, we’ll go to war with the cops.”
McKey said he was crouching to mix concrete at this point in the conversation, and one of the men moved behind him, holding the gun to the back of his head. He recalls the man saying not to move or he would “blow your f***ing brains out,” and that he shifted out of instinct, which might have saved his own life.
That’s likely when he was shot the first time, in his forearm. However, he was also shot in the mouth.
“It looks like the bullet may have ricocheted off my forearm—possibly the one that broke my arm—and exited through my mouth. That may explain why I only lost three teeth,” he said. “I literally spit out a bullet.”
After that, McKey’s friend was shot twice in the arm, and McKey’s stepdad’s hand was grazed by a bullet.
One of the men in the incident allegedly had an AR-15 gun, and he was not wearing a mask, McKey recalled.
According to BRPD, the suspects fled in a dark-colored SUV with gray tape covering the entire rear glass portion of the vehicle.
McKey had multiple broken bones, including his forearm, pinky, ring finger and jaw. He has wounds in his lower abdomen, chest, neck, and lost a chunk of his tongue, which has caused a speech impediment for now.
He has undergone three surgeries so far—for his mouth, abdomen, and another on his hand and arm.
While he’s still attempting to recover and will need more surgeries in the future once he’s back home, McKey said he’s grateful to be alive and for all the support he and the others have received so far.
“You don’t know how much I appreciate it.”
Known for his energetic personality and passion, McKey thrives in his role at Mid City Redevelopment Alliance.
“His entire life is about trying to make Mid City better,” said Amanda Carlin, who is on the board of directors for Mid City Redevelopment Alliance.
Carlin explained that McKey’s job is in community engagement, and he works a lot with the youth in the area to help get them off the streets, along with other disadvantaged groups in Mid City. One of his primary projects is an initiative that happens a couple times every year where youth can come in and learn carpentry and other real-world skills.
“Robby is really all about trying to make Mid City a better place for the people who live there,” Carlin said. “It’s so shocking that someone who does so much for the area would be a victim there.”
McKey now wants people to listen to his story and use it as a lesson to be cautious and aware of their surroundings.
“This could happen to anyone. It happened in broad daylight.”
McKey said his stepdad, who has raised him since he was 13, is now struggling with survivor’s guilt and being shaken up about the whole situation.
To help with medical bills, McKey’s family put together a GoFundMe. McKey plans to use a portion of the donated funds for his stepdad and friend who were there that fateful day.
Mid City Redevelopment Alliance has been serving the local area since 1992. The nonprofit works to keep people and businesses in the area while providing economic opportunities for everyone.
From working with the youth in Mid City to helping develop or renovate affordable housing, the organization looks for all the ways it can help make the area better for the people who live there.
No arrests have been made at this time. Anyone with information on the gunman is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 344-STOP.
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