MARRERO, La. (WVUE) - A teenaged boy was shot and killed near a bus stop early Monday (Feb. 21) in Marrero, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
The juvenile victim’s age and identity were not immediately disclosed, but Sheriff Joe Lopinto said the slain teen was a student at John Ehret High School. He was shot around 7:30 a.m. in the 1800 block of Betty Street and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Family members later identified the victim as 16-year-old Ahmad Howard.
Lopinto said JPSO deputies captured and detained four young people possibly linked to the killing, a female and three males. The sheriff stopped short of calling the four suspects, but said they were chased down on foot after deputies spotted them in a vehicle matching the description of one seen fleeing the shooting scene.
Lopinto said deputies could see a long rifle inside the vehicle, and were awaiting approval of a search warrant to process that and other potential evidence inside.
The sheriff said investigators are working to determine whether the killing was targeted, random or a case of mistaken identity. But Lopinto said that in early conversations he has had with family members and school administrators, “I’m not getting any indication so far that he was in any way a troubled kid.”
School officials notified parents that district crisis team members he been dispatched to John Ehret High to provide grief counseling to students, faculty and staff.
“Additionally, we are cooperating with the sheriff’s office as they investigate this awful situation,” the administration’s message to parents said. “We are praying for the family of our student as our entire Ehret Community is overcome with grief by this loss.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes ailable.
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