A person was shot and wounded Friday night on the 1800 block of Princeton Street in Alexandria, Louisiana, marking the third non-fatal shooting investigated by city police in less than a week. Officers responded to the scene around 8:25 p.m. and found a victim suffering from a gunshot wound that was not considered life-threatening before the person was taken to a local hospital.
According to the Alexandria Police Department, the investigation into the Broadway Avenue shooting remains open with no suspect identified as of Saturday. The department is asking anyone with information to contact its Detective Division at (318) 441-6416, APD Dispatch at (318) 441-6559, or email [email protected]. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can also call Crime Stoppers of CenLa at (318) 443-7867, which offers potential cash rewards, or submit tips through the Crime Stoppers P3 Tipster mobile app. WSMV also reported that one person was injured in the Princeton Street shooting, per the police department's account.
A Cluster of Shootings in a Single Week
The Princeton Street case is at least the third non-fatal shooting APD has investigated within a single week this month, following gunfire reported on Broadway Avenue on October 13 and in the 2200 block of Vance Avenue on October 14, according to the Rapides Parish Journal. All three of the mid-October shootings resulted in non-life-threatening injuries, the outlet noted.
In the Broadway Avenue shooting near Eddie Williams Avenue, officers weren't notified until around 7:45 p.m. after a victim showed up at a hospital seeking treatment. The Vance Avenue shooting followed a similar pattern, with officers meeting a victim already receiving care at a hospital at 2 a.m., the police department said. Both of those cases were assigned to the department's Criminal Investigation Bureau.
A Recurring Obstacle for Detectives
The pattern of victims surfacing at hospitals rather than reporting shootings from the scene has repeatedly complicated investigations in Alexandria. In an earlier case in the 3500 block of Evergreen Street on September 29, Hoodline reported that both the victim and witnesses refused to cooperate with detectives in Alexandria's Evergreen Street shooting. Police Chief Chad Gremillion has publicly said that silence from victims and witnesses severely hampers detectives' ability to clear violent crime cases.
Gremillion, the police chief, has led the department through the recent string of shootings.
Potential Charges Under State Law
Under state law, aggravated battery is classified as a crime of violence, according to FindLaw. Separately, Louisiana law addresses the illegal discharge of a firearm, per Justia.
A City Already Stretched Thin
The gunfire cluster arrived during a week that also saw Alexandria police handle an unrelated and dramatic felony case. On October 13, officers responded after a 52-year-old man allegedly carjacked a city ATRANS transit van with passengers on board and forced the driver to travel to Monroe before being arrested without injury, according to KPEL News. The suspect had reportedly been turned away from a local hospital earlier that same day.
Alexandria has also seen gunfire beyond city limits — local outlets reported on a shooting near Grundy Cooper in Rapides Parish. Hoodline previously covered the Evergreen Street shooting. As of Saturday, no arrests had been announced in the Princeton Street case, and police continue to urge anyone with information to come forward.
