CLINTON – The man who runs a Boy Scout camp in a rural area north of Baton Rouge was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting Monday morning.

Brad DeFranceschi, 48, was found gunned down, shot multiple times in the chest, sources said, at the back of his property on Highway 63 southeast of Clinton. Authorities said DeFranceschi was found near the back camping entrance of the Avondale Scout Reservation.

According to his Facebook page, DeFranceschi was an assistant camp ranger for the Boy Scouts. People with knowledge of the organization described DeFranceschi as a camp ranger – or park ranger – for the reservation.  DeFranceschi had been with the Boy Scouts for 20 years, the agency said in a note about his death.

"Please keep his family in your prayers," the Istrouma Area Council of the Boy Scouts said.

The Boy Scouts added: “This is an extremely difficult time for our Scouting family...we offer our deepest condolences to the victim and his family. Please join us in keeping all those affected in your thoughts and prayers.”

DeFranceschi leaves behind a wife and two children.

DeFranceschi lives near the camp, authorities said.

Friends quickly began posting on his social media page, sharing their thoughts about his tragic death.

"A wonderful husband and father, an amazing chef, a dear friend, a great Scouter and a terrific human being," someone wrote.  "....the world is smaller without you."

Sheriff's deputies said they were looking for suspects that were last driving a small, white, four-door vehicle with tinted windows.  

The shooting comes amid a rash of gunfire along rural highways near the East Baton Rouge – East Feliciana Parish line. The shooting Monday was the fourth – the third where someone died – since early September.  Previous shootings were in the Bluff Creek, Port Hudson-Pride Road and Hwy. 960 areas.

WBRZ.com previously reported HERE, deputies were looking into if the three initial shootings were connected.  There has been no official word on any relation to the most recent shooting.

Click HERE to read the latest on the case of all four shootings. 

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