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Four shootings in same rural area have left three dead
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CLINTON – Authorities are working duplicate cases on a series of shootings that have left three people dead along the East Baton Rouge – East Feliciana parish line.
At a news conference Monday, authorities said while departments are working each shooting case independently, the rash of shootings are also being investigated jointly. Authorities from the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office discussed the cases after another person was found shot and killed earlier Monday.
Brad DeFranceschi, 48, was found gunned down at the back of his property on Highway 63 southeast of Clinton. Previous shootings were in the Bluff Creek, Port Hudson-Pride Road and Hwy. 960 areas.
> READ: WBRZ.com breaking news report on the shooting Monday; Click HERE
DeFranceschi, Carroll Breeden and Thomas Bass have been shot and killed since early September. Buck Hornsby was also shot in the same area and survived.
Breeden, a former Baton Rouge parks official, was found dead outside his home in the 15000 block of Port Hudson-Pride Road in East Baton Rouge. Bass was found dead at his home on Highway 960 in East Feliciana. Hornsby was shot in the Bluff Creek area, off Highway 63.
> MORE: Hornsby discusses being shot in an interview with WBRZ HERE.
State Police and federal agents are involved in the investigations, authorities said. Authorities said they've contacted the FBI.
In the shootings, getaway vehicles were described as light-colored cars. Monday, authorities said they were looking for a small, white, four-door vehicle with tinted windows. Hornsby said the people who shot him were in an older model gray or silver Mitsubishi. Authorities say if you have any information, call them.
Authorities asked for people to remain vigilant, and said there has been an increase in patrols in the areas where gunfire has been reported.
Authorities would not discuss specific evidence that may or may not link the cases to a single gunman.
"We are not using [the term 'serial killer'] right now," East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said. “We're approaching this with a total open mind knowing very well that this could be anywhere in the spectrum.”
"We don't want to create any defense by putting out publicly a theory which may or may not be right," Greg Phares, East Feliciana Parish Chief Deputy said.
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