New Orleans police are asking for the public's help identifying a man known only by the nickname “Lil Youngin” after he allegedly pulled a gun on a rideshare driver, then chased a woman with unwanted advances and opened fire as she ran into a nearby home in Central City. The July 6 incident unfolded on the 2100 block of Reverend John Raphael Jr. Way, and detectives say the woman was not struck by the gunfire.
According to WDSU, officers were called to the scene around 1:30 p.m. after a rideshare driver reported that a man approached him while he was parking in the area. The suspect allegedly pulled a gun on the driver and told him to leave before turning his attention to a woman nearby. Police said the man made unwanted advances toward her, and when she tried to get away, he allegedly fired several shots as she fled into a home. Officers who responded ultimately met with both the driver and the woman as victims in the case.
A more detailed timeline released by NOPD News on Tuesday confirmed that sequence of events, describing how the suspect first drew the firearm on the parked driver and ordered him away before approaching the woman and opening fire once she ran for the residence. Investigators have identified the pictured person in their bulletin as the perpetrator, per police, though his legal name has not been made public. He is described as a thin Black male with dark skin, standing about 5 feet 3 inches tall, and known to go by Lil Youngin.
A Street Named for a Civil Rights Milestone
The assault took place in the heart of Central City, a densely populated neighborhood in ZIP code 70113 located roughly five minutes southwest of downtown New Orleans, according to property listings for the block cited in local records. The street itself carries its own history: Reverend John Raphael Jr. Way was known as LaSalle Street, and before that Howard Avenue, until the New Orleans City Council renamed it in 2015, per the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission.
Its current namesake, Officer John Raphael, made local history in 1950 when he and Officer Carleton Pecot became the New Orleans Police Department's first two Black police officers of the 20th century, an appointment that followed years of advocacy from the NAACP and local civil rights leaders, according to research published by The College of Wooster Open Works.
A Second Central City Case for Sixth District Detectives
This is not the only recent gun assault against a woman that Sixth District detectives have investigated in Central City this month. Earlier in August, a 21-year-old suspect was arrested on Erato Street after allegedly pistol-whipping a woman and fleeing with an infant, Hoodline reported at the time.
The Sixth District, which also covers the Garden District and the Irish Channel, handles detective inquiries out of its station and can be reached directly at 504-658-6060. Anyone with information on the Lil Youngin case can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously at 504-822-1111.
What the Suspect Could Face
If identified and charged, the suspect would face aggravated assault with a firearm under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:37.4, a felony carrying up to 10 years in prison, with or without hard labor, and fines as high as $10,000, according to the Louisiana State Legislature. That charge is far more severe than general aggravated assault, which caps out at a six-month sentence. Under Louisiana criminal procedure, the offense is also classified as a statutory crime of violence, which limits a defendant's eligibility for probation, suspended sentences or early parole, per Stephen D. Hebert Attorney at Law.
Part of a Broader Drop in Gun Violence
The case comes as New Orleans continues to see a citywide decline in gun violence. Metropolitan Crime Commission data compiled through August 16 shows the city recorded 97 nonfatal shooting incidents so far this year, a 24 percent drop compared to the same period in 2025 and a 67 percent reduction from 2022, according to the commission's weekly crime bulletin. Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Rogers Williams announced in January that New Orleans had reached its lowest annual homicide rate in 50 years, marking three straight years of declining violent crime citywide.
Even so, incidents like the one on Reverend John Raphael Jr. Way show that targeted gun assaults against women remain an active concern for Sixth District detectives working Central City. The investigation into the July 6 shooting remains ongoing, and it is not yet known whether the suspect's legal name will be confirmed, whether the firearm will be recovered, or whether additional charges tied to the confrontation with the rideshare driver will follow once he is located.
