A Shreveport altercation inside a Freestate Boulevard food business turned into a shooting last month, leaving Durham wounded in the hand and facing a battery charge. Shreveport police responded to a reported shooting at about 5 p.m. on October 21 at Whaley Food Service, located at 129 Freestate Boulevard.
According to the Shreveport-Bossier Journal, officers arriving at the scene located a 42-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to his hand. The newspaper identified him as Michael Durham, while KTAL reported the same 42-year-old accused in the incident as James Durham. The two outlets' accounts otherwise align on the sequence of events that unfolded inside the business that evening.
A witness told investigators that Durham rushed into the business and punched another man in the face, according to the Shreveport-Bossier Journal. Investigators said the other man then allegedly produced a firearm and shot Durham during the altercation. A witness reported hearing two gunshots before seeing Durham flee the business, the paper's report states.
Injuries and Hospital Treatment
Durham was treated at Ochsner LSU Health for what police described as a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his hand, per the Journal's reporting. The man he allegedly punched was transported to Willis-Knighton North for treatment of minor head injuries, the same account notes.
A witness also told detectives that Durham had previously threatened to harm the other man because he believed the man was having an affair with his wife, according to the Journal. KTAL's report confirms that detectives arrested the man accused of throwing the punch on a battery charge. Both reports state that the other man fired during the altercation, and the Journal says he allegedly produced a firearm and shot Durham.
Legal Questions Still Unanswered
Louisiana law, under Revised Statutes 14:20(C), states that a person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and is in a place they have a right to be has no duty to retreat before using deadly force under that section. That statutory language does not by itself determine whether the force used in this particular confrontation was legally justified, and no court filings or police records independently verifying the media accounts were available at the time of this report.
It remains unclear whether the man who fired the gun will face charges in connection with the shooting, or how the battery charge against the man accused of throwing the punch will ultimately be resolved. As with any criminal allegation, the man arrested is presumed innocent unless convicted.
