An 11-year-old Louisiana boy was killed Thursday night after he and several members of his family were held hostage inside a car by a teenage gunman, Baton Rouge police said.
BRPD spokesman Sgt. L’Jean McKneely said the suspect had been feuding with another family member when he held the boy, Matthew Fortenberry, and at least three others at gunpoint in an attempt to draw the relative out of a home in the 5600 block of Crestway Ave. just before 7 p.m.
A person inside the car began shooting at the suspect, who returned fire as he ran off, McKneely said. Fortenberry, a student at Glen Oaks Park Elementary School, was driven to a hospital by a relative but died soon after.
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First responders later found the alleged shooter, who had been wounded himself, less than a mile away in the 6300 block of Greenwell Street. He was treated at a hospital and booked on one count of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count each of false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon and illegal discharge of a firearm.
East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore said he wants to try the 17-year-old, who has not been identified, as an adult.
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In a statement Friday, Mayor-president Sharon Weston Broome called Fortenberry’s death “senseless” and commended BRPD for quickly taking the juvenile suspect into custody.
“This thoughtless act has forever destroyed the lives of two young people and impacted our entire community,” Broome said. “While this quick police work can’t undo such an unthinkable action, it is an important step towards justice and healing for the family.”
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