Updated
Updated · WDSU New Orleans · Jun 5
Gunmen Kill 50-Year-Old Patricia Sheppard in 80-Shot Mistaken Identity Attack
Updated
Updated · WDSU New Orleans · Jun 5

Gunmen Kill 50-Year-Old Patricia Sheppard in 80-Shot Mistaken Identity Attack

3 articles · Updated · WDSU New Orleans · Jun 5

Summary

  • Patricia Sheppard, 50, was killed around 1:15 a.m. Thursday after gunmen opened fire on her car at a Chevron on Highway 190 West in Hammond, police said.
  • Security video showed a stolen white sedan pull alongside the gray car, then two people in dark clothing got out with AR-style pistols and fired 70 to 80 rounds into the passenger side.
  • Hammond police said the attackers had followed the vehicle and believed another person was inside, making Sheppard an unintended victim rather than a random target.
  • The suspects fled west on Highway 190 toward Interstate 55 in the white sedan, which police said had been carjacked in McComb, Mississippi, on Tuesday night.
  • Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Dustin Williams as the homicide inquiry continues.

Insights

With 80 rounds fired in a mistaken identity murder, who was the actual target and why?
As AR-style pistols are used in a brutal killing, are regional gun laws enabling such extreme violence?