A 19-year-old man is in custody after a Saturday afternoon shooting in the Pines Village section of New Orleans that left a woman with a graze wound to the head. The gunfire erupted in the 7200 block of Downman Road near Morrison Road, where police say two people walked up to a parked car. According to authorities, one woman deployed pepper spray on the people inside the vehicle before shots were fired. The injured woman was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to recover.
Police account
Officers arrested 19-year-old Rashad Bakewell in connection with the shooting, according to WDSU. Police told the outlet that Bakewell and a woman approached the parked car, and that the woman pepper-sprayed the occupants just before Bakewell opened fire. The woman who was with Bakewell has not been located, and the New Orleans Police Department said the investigation remains active.
Pines Village safety concerns
The incident adds to a growing list of violent episodes along Downman Road and in the surrounding Pines Village neighborhood, an area of New Orleans East where residents have repeatedly raised alarms about safety. A recent local report detailed an earlier afternoon shooting on the same stretch of Downman, highlighting recurring gun violence in the area: Afternoon gunfire on Downman Road. City officials have said that overall violent crime declined in 2025 even as concentrated pockets of gun violence continue to trouble specific neighborhoods.
Investigation continues
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the New Orleans Police Department, and anonymous tips can be submitted to Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans. For details on how to report anonymously, see Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans. Authorities have not yet released additional information about possible charges or an updated report on the victim’s condition.
