Shooters fire 70+ shots at car, killing ‘innocent victim,’ police say

A group of shooters unleashed a hail of bullets at a Louisiana gas station and killed a woman who ​was not their intended target, police said June 4.

The suspects used a stolen car ⁠to surveil another vehicle at a poultry processing ‌plant, Hammond Police Chief Edwin ​Bergeron Jr. said at a news conference. At some point, the person believed to be the intended target got out, ⁠and Patricia Shepard, 50, got ‌in, needing a ‌ride home.

The suspects then followed the vehicle to the gas station. ⁠When the driver got out, the shooters fired 70 to 80 ‌shots into the ‌car, killing Shepard in an attack captured on video.

“She was in the wrong ⁠place unfortunately at the wrong ​time,” Bergeron said, ⁠calling ​Shepard “an absolute innocent victim.”

Bergeron said the getaway vehicle used in the shooting was also involved in a ⁠carjacking in McComb, Mississippi. The chief declined to discuss the motive for the shooting, ⁠but said police are actively pursuing leads on two to three suspects.

“We will not rest until the scumbags ⁠like this go ‌to jail,” Bergeron said.