Man shoots 5 people, including officer
(Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com)
By Beau Evans
NEW ORLEANS, LA. – A 25-year-old man went on “a violent crime spree” on Sunday afternoon (April 22), sending New Orleans police to multiple crime scenes across the city and ultimately shooting five people, including a police officer, and injuring three others after a car chase ended in a Mid-City crash, NOPD said.
The rampage in which 25-year-old Charles Williams is accused also included his armed carjacking of the vehicle he later used in the chase, NOPD Chief Michael Harrison said. Police were also investigating whether Williams may be connected to yet another crime: the killing of a man Sunday afternoon who was shot inside his vehicle at an undetermined location and died after crashing with another car on Elysian Fields.
Harrison said Williams’ violent spree began at about 4:25 p.m. in the 1900 block of St. Roch Avenue. There, Harrison said, Williams got into a “domestic situation” with a woman and “fired multiple rounds” at people gathered on the porch of a home in that block, wounding three of them.
Those three victims were taken to a hospital, where they were in stable condition, Harrison said in a press conference.
Then, Williams went to the 1400 block of N. Derbigny Street, Harrison said, where he shot a victim in the face. “That person is in surgery as we speak,” Harrison said about 7:30 p.m.
From there, Williams went to the 1700 block of Desire Parkway, where he stole a car in an armed carjacking, before returning to the original scene on St. Roch Avenue. There, while NOPD officers were investigating, Williams opened fire, hitting one police officer, who suffered a “minor graze wound” to the chest, Harrison said. The officer, who was not identified, was being treated for the wound Sunday evening and is “in good condition,” the chief said.
After that shooting, Harrison said, NOPD officers gave chase to Williams in the stolen car, following him through the city before Williams crashed a red Toyota Corolla on North Carrollton Avenue near Flowerdale Court. The crash damaged another vehicle, which was occupied by three people at the time.
Williams “exited his vehicle with his firearm,” Harrison said, but dropped the gun when officers confronted him.
“He is being charged for multiple armed robberies, multiple shootings in and around the city of New Orleans,” Harrison said.
Williams has two prior arrests in Orleans Parish, records show. In 2010, he was booked with illegal carrying of weapons and resisting an officer. He pleaded guilty and received a six-month suspended sentence and six months of probation. In 2013, he was booked with possession of marijuana and illegally carrying a weapon, court records show.
Williams was also booked in Jefferson Parish with aggravated burglary in 2014, but the charges were ultimately refused.
Probable cause documents sworn by Kenner Police in that case included allegations of domestic violence: A man identified by the same name and date of birth as Williams arrived at an ex-girlfriend’s apartment and asked to talk. The ex-girlfriend did not answer, but a male friend came to pick her up, and Williams “became enraged” and kicked open the door, a police affidavit says. Williams chased his ex-girlfriend into her bedroom, hit her with his fists and kicked her in the throat, the report says. He also hit her with a broomstick and threw a body mirror across the room, the affidavit says. As police arrived, they saw Williams chasing his ex-girlfriend through an alley. She escaped to a family member’s home and he was ultimately found hiding in a nearby backyard. Police said Williams also threw the ex-girlfriend’s cellphone on a roof while he was hiding.
Meanwhile, the NOPD began investigating the shooting that killed the man found at the Elysian Fields crash. Harrison said it wasn’t clear if that shooting, at an unknown location, was related to Williams’ spree. But the chief noted the timing was close.
Harrison said investigators believe the fatal victim was shot, “possibly in the head,” then he drove himself to the 2400 block of Elysian Fields, where he crashed into another vehicle. Two occupants of the other vehicle were also injured and were taken to a local hospital, where they were stable Sunday evening.
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