A man shot a woman multiple times outside an office building on Veterans Boulevard in Metairie, then drove a short distance away and killed himself, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. The woman was rushed to a local hospital and remained in critical condition following the shooting, which deputies described as an attempted murder-suicide spanning two locations.
The sheriff’s office said the shooting began at 110 Veterans Memorial Boulevard, in the 100 block of Veterans Boulevard, and involved two locations. The man later drove to Toulouse Street and Oaklawn Drive, where he shot and killed himself, according to WDSU. FOX 8 also reported the specific address of the initial shooting.
Scene Taped Off at Office Building
Investigators examined a car found running with its doors open in the office-building parking lot, according to the report. Deputies also taped off the lot as they investigated. A witness told the outlet they heard several shots and saw an ambulance leave with the woman, who had a bandage on her neck.
A witness told the outlet they heard multiple gunshots before watching an ambulance drive away with the woman, who had a bandage on her neck. The woman was taken to a local hospital and is in critical condition, the sheriff's office said.
National Data Offer Context, Not a Case Finding
National research points to the connection between intimate-partner violence and murder-suicides, but does not establish a motive or relationship in this case. In an analysis by The Trace, 93 of 143 murder-suicides where the relationship between victim and shooter could be determined—65 percent—involved intimate-partner violence.
The Trace has documented 156 gun-related murder-suicides so far this year, resulting in 200 victim deaths and 153 perpetrator deaths. That followed a prior year in which 681 murder-suicides occurred nationwide, averaging nearly two per day. The organization also identified 37 attempted murder-suicides this year in which either the victim or the shooter survived — the category into which the Metairie case would fall, given the woman's hospitalization.
Researcher Katherine M. Keyes told The Trace that more than 90 percent of murder-suicide events involving fatalities involve a gun being present. The outlet also noted that the presence of a firearm increases the chance of death in a domestic violence incident fivefold.
Homicides Down Sharply in Jefferson Parish This Year
Unincorporated Jefferson Parish had recorded 22 homicides last year, compared with eight through Oct. 21 this year, according to NOLA.com. The current count put the parish on track for its lowest total in at least six decades; the report said it had not recorded a single-digit homicide year since at least 1965, based on FBI data.
Sheriff Joe Lopinto credited the decline largely to technology, including drones, automated license plate readers and phone trackers, NOLA.com reported. The sheriff’s office said its drone program assisted with more than 700 arrests in its first 10 months.
State and National Data, Plus Local Support
The available national figure is a count rather than a rate: CDC data recorded 2,139 domestic violence-related gun homicides nationwide in 2023, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. Separately, a Louisiana Department of Health report says guns account for 76% of domestic abuse homicides statewide. These population-level figures do not establish a domestic-violence relationship or motive in the Metairie case. For people seeking help, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office lists domestic-abuse assistance resources and says its Family Violence Unit works with the Jefferson Children’s Advocacy Center. The New Orleans Family Justice Center says it helps domestic-violence survivors file protective orders in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
