Two men were rushed to a Lafayette hospital by ambulance after they shot each other inside an apartment at Acadian Manor Apartments on Jeffrey Drive early Friday morning, according to police. Both men were listed in stable condition by police, and no charges have been announced as investigators continue trying to determine what happened and why.
Emergency dispatchers sent Lafayette Police Department officers to the 200 block of Jeffrey Drive at 12:52 a.m. Friday after 911 callers reported an active shooting in progress, according to KPEL News. Responding officers found the two men suffering from gunshot wounds at the complex, which sits near Thomas Park, as reported by KADN News 15. A preliminary investigation showed the shooting occurred between the two men inside the apartment, per authorities cited by the station.
Investigators Still Chasing a Motive
By 8 a.m. Friday, Lafayette Police officers had updated the medical status of both hospitalized men to stable, per the same account, while investigators continued gathering evidence at the scene. Sr. Cpl. Ken Handy said the investigation into what occurred and the motive is still being determined. Lafayette Police Department investigators have spoken to both parties involved and are reviewing evidence to piece together what happened, though the reason for the shooting remains unknown and the investigation is ongoing.
Acadian Manor Apartments is a 140-unit, two-story complex built in 1979 and renovated in 2017 that offers subsidized Section 8 project-based rental assistance, according to Apartments.com. The property serves low-income families in Lafayette Parish, adding context to the socio-economic backdrop of Friday's shootout.
A String of Shootings at Lafayette Complexes
This is not the first outbreak of gunfire at a Lafayette apartment complex this year. On July 21, a 25-year-old man was shot and killed during a child custody exchange at the Arbors at Lafayette apartment complex, leading to second-degree murder charges against a 23-year-old suspect who was also held on outstanding fugitive warrants, according to KATC News. And on March 25, police responded to a fatal shooting at the Grand Pointe Apartments on Kaliste Saloom Road, where a 22-year-old man visiting from Franklin was found shot to death in the parking lot, as reported by KQKI News.
Those incidents come even as citywide homicide numbers have dropped sharply. Homicides in the city of Lafayette fell 44 percent in 2025 to 10 total cases, down from a record high of 29 homicides in 2023, according to The Acadiana Advocate. Local law enforcement attributed part of that decline to expanded surveillance and targeted intervention. Statewide, the gun violence picture remains grim: Louisiana recorded 1,030 firearm-related deaths in 2024, an age-adjusted mortality rate nearly 79 percent higher than the national average, per USAFacts.
What Charges Could Look Like
It is not yet clear whether either man will face charges. Under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:94, the intentional or criminally negligent discharge of a firearm where death or great bodily harm is foreseeable carries penalties of up to a $1,000 fine and up to two years in prison for a first offense, with second and subsequent offenses carrying mandatory prison sentences of five to seven years, according to the Louisiana State Legislature. But Louisiana's Stand Your Ground law, R.S. 14:19, also comes into play: a person not engaged in unlawful activity and in a place they have a right to be has no duty to retreat and may use force in self-defense, with fact-finders barred from considering the possibility of retreat when evaluating such claims. Whether either man was engaged in unlawful activity inside the apartment, and who initiated the confrontation, will likely be central to any decision on charges.
Lafayette Police Department calls for service illustrate how routine this kind of dispatch volume is for the department, which handled 9,792 total calls in December 2025 alone, including 244 domestic incidents and 371 arrests, according to KPEL News. Anyone with information on Friday's shooting is asked to remain anonymous and contact Lafayette Crime Stoppers at 337-232-8477, submit a tip through the LPD app's submit-a-tip tab or the P3 Tips mobile app, or call the Lafayette Police Department directly at 337-291-8600.
