Chief says drive-by that killed one, hurt two other children missed intended target
BATON ROUGE - One child died and two other children were rushed to a pediatric hospital after being shot in a drive-by attack that missed its target Wednesday afternoon.
Initially, two of the kids were critically injured and one child suffered serious injuries, officials said. Later, one died and no other information was given other than that the child was a boy.
"I hope people are as mad as I am," Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse told WBRZ.
Morse said around 2:20 p.m. a car pulled up alongside another vehicle at the corner of Swan and Kingfisher avenues. Officers found a vehicle shot multiple times outside of Lofton Hair Care right off of Southern University's campus.
"There's 20 to 30 shell casings in the street - that's about how many times this car was struck," Morse said.
Morse said three young children who were in the car were shot. Police wouldn't say how old they are, but said they were not the intended target.
"As you can see, innocent people are being hurt, they're being injured. They're not getting people they want to get," Morse said.
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Mayor President Sharon Weston Broome sent the following statement:
“There are no words to express how much pain the choice of some adults to engage in this violence that injured innocent children has brought these children’s family members, their young friends, classmates and teachers, and our entire community. You each remain in our prayers continually. Our Baton Rouge Police Department is working every lead in this case diligently, and we will not rest until any perpetrators of this violence are brought to justice.”
EBR Schools Superintendent LaMont Cole issued a statement where he said the three children were EBR Schools students. He said EBR Schools is "[extending] prayers and deepest condolences to the families and friends affected by this senseless act." He said that the community needed to "come together and combat the violence that continues to threaten our youth."