Cops: Man named suspect in murder of mother, daughter
NEW ORLEANS - Police issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for a man who is suspected in a triple shooting that left a 25-year-old mother and her 8-year-old daughter dead and another woman injured, reports CBS affiliate WWL.
Police say Walesha Williams and her daughter Paris were killed around 1 a.m. Tuesday, when a perpetrator entered a home in in the 14000 block of Duane Road and started shooting. Neighbors, friends and family members say the alleged shooter was her boyfriend -- later identified by police as 25-year-old Dwayne Martin, according to the station.
Neighbors also say the third victim, a family friend, played dead after she was shot and saw the man take Williams' purse, money and cellphone. When the shooter drove off, the friend ran to a neighbor's home for help and named Williams' boyfriend as the shooter before she collapsed, reports the CBS affiliate.
Those in the community are struggling to figure out why someone would shoot an 8-year-old girl asleep in her bed. Police could not officially confirm the neighbor and relatives' account of what happened or the motive, but people who knew the victims told WWL it was a case of domestic violence.
"I spoke to the family this morning, the victim's family this morning," NOPD Homicide Commander Sgt. Nick Gernon told the station. "They feel that once he's in jail that they may be able to get some closure, and they really are urging him to turn himself in."
Crimestoppers is now offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the shooter. If anyone has any information, call them at 504-822-1111.