Shootings Louisiana

The latest fatality in escalating gang violence in Shreveport, La., has been identified as a 24-year-old Los Angeles man who had been sought by police as a suspect in a 1988 drive-by murder in the South-Central Los Angeles area. For the last year, police said, the suspect, Larry Alonzo Winters, had been living in Shreveport under the name "Dante Ford," becoming one of the leaders of a Crips faction whose war with another gang is believed responsible for scores of drive-by shootings.

The fatal shooting of a store manager in Louisiana was linked Thursday by police to a weapon allegedly used by John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo in a string of sniper attacks in the Washington area. Baton Rouge authorities issued an arrest warrant for Muhammad and Malvo in the death of Hong Im Ballenger, the manager of a beauty supply store who was shot while closing up on the evening of Sept. 23.

A man involved in a fistfight stepped out of a crowd Monday as a Martin Luther King Day parade marched past and shot another man to death, wounding three children who were in his way. "We have a suspect, but not in hand," Police Chief Greg Phares told reporters. He said the gunman and all of his victims were black. "It appears there was no racial or political or hate-crime motive. It appears to have stemmed from a personal dispute."

A 14-year-old opened fire on faculty and fellow students at an alternative school in Monroe, authorities said. But his handgun misfired after four shots, and no one was injured. The boy was disarmed and arrested after two police officers rushed him, school district spokeswoman Kelly McGee said.

A 13-year-old boy was fatally shot Christmas Day in Chalmette, La., by a playmate who received a shotgun as a gift, authorities said. John Hanley apparently stepped in front of his 12-year-old companion as the gun went off and was shot in the head, said Maj. Richard Baumy of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office. He said the incident was being treated as an accidental shooting and no charges had been filed.

Shrimp fishing crews fired automatic weapons and rammed each other's boats in the Gulf of Mexico amid tension between longtime area fishermen and Vietnamese newcomers. No injuries were reported. The shooting stopped when Coast Guard helicopters and boats arrived, authorities said. Officials had reported one boat sinking because of the ramming, but they said it was out of danger. Officials said it was too early to place blame for the confrontation on the immigrants or the longtime residents.

A 14-year-old opened fire on faculty and fellow students at an alternative school in Monroe, authorities said. But his handgun misfired after four shots, and no one was injured. The boy was disarmed and arrested after two police officers rushed him, school district spokeswoman Kelly McGee said.

A home owner was ordered Thursday to pay $653,000 to the parents of a Japanese exchange student who was shot to death in 1992 when he went to the wrong door while looking for a Halloween party. State District Judge Bill Brown rejected Rodney Peairs' explanation that he thought 16-year-old Yoshihiro Hattori was a lunatic bent on hurting him and his family. "There is no justification that the killing was necessary to save himself or his family," Brown ruled in a lawsuit filed by the boy's parents.

A college student was arrested and accused of murder in the shooting that killed one man and wounded three children at a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday parade in Baton Rouge. Brandon Johnson, 19, a student at predominantly black Southern University, was booked on murder and attempted murder charges for the shooting that scattered the crowd of 500 marching during the King Day ceremonies.

A grocery store security guard shot and killed a man who had allegedly run from the store with a dozen stolen steaks in his trousers, police said. The guard said she thought the 39-year-old man, who was shot in the back behind the store Wednesday night, was armed, but authorities did not find a weapon. Security guards are only supposed to fire their guns if they believe lives are in danger, Shreveport Police Sgt. J.J. Roberts said. Police were investigating whether the shooting was justified.

A grocery store security guard shot and killed a man who had allegedly run from the store with a dozen stolen steaks in his trousers, police said. The guard said she thought the 39-year-old man, who was shot in the back behind the store Wednesday night, was armed, but authorities did not find a weapon. Security guards are only supposed to fire their guns if they believe lives are in danger, Shreveport Police Sgt. J.J. Roberts said. Police were investigating whether the shooting was justified.

A 13-year-old boy was fatally shot Christmas Day in Chalmette, La., by a playmate who received a shotgun as a gift, authorities said. John Hanley apparently stepped in front of his 12-year-old companion as the gun went off and was shot in the head, said Maj. Richard Baumy of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office. He said the incident was being treated as an accidental shooting and no charges had been filed.

A college student was arrested and accused of murder in the shooting that killed one man and wounded three children at a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday parade in Baton Rouge. Brandon Johnson, 19, a student at predominantly black Southern University, was booked on murder and attempted murder charges for the shooting that scattered the crowd of 500 marching during the King Day ceremonies.

A man involved in a fistfight stepped out of a crowd Monday as a Martin Luther King Day parade marched past and shot another man to death, wounding three children who were in his way. "We have a suspect, but not in hand," Police Chief Greg Phares told reporters. He said the gunman and all of his victims were black. "It appears there was no racial or political or hate-crime motive. It appears to have stemmed from a personal dispute."

A gunman fatally shot three workers at a French Quarter restaurant and critically injured another during an apparent robbery. A waitress at the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen discovered her co-workers in a freezer when she arrived to set up tables, said Lt. Marlon Defillo, a police spokesman. The victims' identities were not immediately available and Defillo did not say what, if anything, was stolen. A man and a woman died at the restaurant, another man died at a hospital.

A home owner was ordered Thursday to pay $653,000 to the parents of a Japanese exchange student who was shot to death in 1992 when he went to the wrong door while looking for a Halloween party. State District Judge Bill Brown rejected Rodney Peairs' explanation that he thought 16-year-old Yoshihiro Hattori was a lunatic bent on hurting him and his family. "There is no justification that the killing was necessary to save himself or his family," Brown ruled in a lawsuit filed by the boy's parents.

A Lancaster fugitive who vowed not be taken alive has been shot to death by a Louisiana state trooper after he pointed a gun at the officer during a routine traffic stop, authorities said Friday. William E. Flory, 44, a convicted child molester and a fugitive since Jan. 4, was shot five times by Louisiana State Police Trooper Neal Harwell after Harwell stopped him for driving a car with expired registration tags, said Louisiana state police spokeswoman Barbara Gibson.

A gunman fatally shot three workers at a French Quarter restaurant and critically injured another during an apparent robbery. A waitress at the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen discovered her co-workers in a freezer when she arrived to set up tables, said Lt. Marlon Defillo, a police spokesman. The victims' identities were not immediately available and Defillo did not say what, if anything, was stolen. A man and a woman died at the restaurant, another man died at a hospital.

A Lancaster fugitive who vowed not be taken alive has been shot to death by a Louisiana state trooper after he pointed a gun at the officer during a routine traffic stop, authorities said Friday. William E. Flory, 44, a convicted child molester and a fugitive since Jan. 4, was shot five times by Louisiana State Police Trooper Neal Harwell after Harwell stopped him for driving a car with expired registration tags, said Louisiana state police spokeswoman Barbara Gibson.

Shrimp fishing crews fired automatic weapons and rammed each other's boats in the Gulf of Mexico amid tension between longtime area fishermen and Vietnamese newcomers. No injuries were reported. The shooting stopped when Coast Guard helicopters and boats arrived, authorities said. Officials had reported one boat sinking because of the ramming, but they said it was out of danger. Officials said it was too early to place blame for the confrontation on the immigrants or the longtime residents.