A man was shot in the face while lying in bed inside a home on the 1700 block of 77th Avenue in Baton Rouge early Wednesday, and he's now recovering from injuries police describe as non-life-threatening. Officers haven't identified a suspect or a motive, and the investigation is still unfolding just hours after the gunfire woke up the neighborhood.
Officers Found Victim After Gunfire Inside the Home
Baton Rouge police officers responded around 1:40 a.m. to the 1700 block of 77th Avenue and found the shooting victim, according to Yahoo News. The man was lying in bed when he was shot in the face, and the Baton Rouge Police Department confirmed that shots were fired directly at the home. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Investigators are still searching for a suspect and motive, and the report notes the investigation remains ongoing. No further details about what led up to the shooting, who else may have been inside the home, or how many shots were fired have been released. Anyone with information is asked to call the Violent Crimes Unit at 225-389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at 225-344-7867.
Shootings Climbing Even as Other Crime Falls Citywide
The shooting lands amid a year in which Baton Rouge police have reported a mixed crime picture. Overall crime in the city is down 7% compared to last year, with robberies down 25%, according to WAFB — though The Advocate separately reported burglaries down 7% rather than the 17% figure WAFB cited, with the discrepancy unexplained in either report. Even so, shooting incidents and shooting victims are slightly up over the same point in 2025.
Baton Rouge police and the East Baton Rouge coroner's office reported that 81 people have died in violent crimes so far this year, including 15 juveniles, per the same WAFB report. As of September, 15 juveniles had died in killings this year, compared with nine juveniles killed during all of 2025. Police have made more than 2,000 felony arrests in 2026, including 359 involving juveniles.
Police Chief Points to Disputes, Staffing Shortfall
Midyear homicide figures told a steadier story: Baton Rouge recorded 42 homicides within city limits through the first half of 2026, matching the same point in 2025, while the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office logged 11 homicides over the same period, also unchanged from a year earlier. The parishwide total stood at 53 by June 30 in both years, even as overall gun violence ticked up 2%. Police Chief T.J. Morse said most homicides this year stemmed from arguments or retaliation between people who knew each other. “The vast majority of our homicides see the suspect and the victim had some kind of disagreement, argument or it was some kind of retaliation,” Morse said.
The department has also been working short-staffed, with WAFB reporting the agency is currently short 150 officers. Morse has said recruiting has picked up following a recent pay raise, though the shortage remains a backdrop to the department's response capacity. Three juveniles had been arrested for homicide so far in 2026, compared with 11 arrested by the same point last year.
Wednesday's shooting is not the first time gunfire has struck near this stretch of Baton Rouge. A 2016 incident near 73rd Avenue and Somerset Street left a man identified by police as Joseph Williams, 20, dead after a 25-year-old resident returned fire in self-defense while fleeing his own home, according to The Advocate. Whether that older case has any connection to Wednesday's shooting has not been established by any available reporting.
Under Baton Rouge city guidance, any mention of a person in connection with an investigation does not establish guilt, and innocence is presumed unless a conviction is secured in court. As of Wednesday afternoon, no suspect had been named in connection with the 77th Avenue shooting, and police have not released further details on what sparked the gunfire.
