Authorities believe Jennings homicide to be gang-related

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - One man is dead after an overnight shooting in Jennings.

This marks the sixth shooting in six weeks in Jennings.

Deontrae Edwards, 25, was killed in the shooting, the Jeff Davis Coroner’s Office confirmed. His family said Edwards was also shot a few weeks ago at Marcus Cain Park during a community festival.

“My son give the shirt off his back. He was a good person, a loving person,” Ravin Neal, Deontrae’s mother said. “He didn’t deserve this and I’m not going to stop ‘til justice is served.”

Neal and her family are now grieving the death of her 25-year-old son.

“I got a phone call last night by a neighbor stating she was in there trying to revive my nephew after Ketron Alexander shot my nephew down,” Kelly Neal, Deontrae’s aunt said.

He was killed inside a McKinley Street home, but it wasn’t the first time he was targeted.

Edwards was shot a few weeks ago at Marcus Cain Park during a community festival.

“We feel like the system failed us. It failed us,” Kendra St. Julien, Deontrae’s aunt said.

His family believes the suspected group involved came back to finish the job.

“So obviously those two cases are related to each other,” Jennings Police Chief Danny Semmes said.

Semmes said investigators believe the recent gun violence in Jennings is connected.

“This is not the first shooting, not the second shooting, it’s not the third shooting, it’s about the 13th shooting out here,” Kelly Neal said.

Investigators call it gang-related.

“Jennings has been lit up since 2014 ‘cause these little boys stepped outside calling themselves the Four Babies when they really some babies.”

Police said the group is made up of mostly teenagers.

“Enough is enough. They go around terrorizing the city,” Ravin Neal said. “They have old people scared to sit in their yard. That’s not right.”

While the victim’s family is frustrated, they also believe this tragedy could have been prevented.

“Little boys are putting on Instagram and every site about killing my nephew. What are they doing? They may be working behind the scenes,” Julien said. “I’m not going to say what are they doing. They may be working behind the scenes. We’re not seeing any progress and we want to see some progress. We want justice.”

The suspect, 20-year-old Ketron Latralle Alexander, is in custody facing a second-degree murder charge.

“We want to let the public know we are going to aggressively pursue this case as well as the others that have happened in the past few weeks,” Semmes said.

Alexander is also charged with violating a protective order, home invasion, and domestic battery with child endangerment. No bond has been set.

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