About 1, 125 people die by gun violence in Louisiana every year, according to Everytown, an organization tracking gun violence in the U.S. One of the latest shootings claimed the life of an 18-year-old boy as he was getting off the school bus.
Carencro High School student Jaylin Joiner was exiting the school bus on Bradford Drive on March 1 just after 3 p.m. when tragedy struck. About the time deputies from the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office arrived to the scene, they found Joiner with a gunshot wound. He was transported to the local medical facility with life-threatening injuries, according to KATC-TV. He died later.
Public Information Officer Valerie Ponseti said the department is looking for several suspects in connection to the incident. The shooting left the community shaken and even impacted the school with a heavier security presence.
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“It doesn’t stop with just the victim or his family,” said Chad Desormeaux, representative for District 2 of the Lafayette Parish School System. “It’s obviously them and it’s a bus driver and their families because it’s going to affect that bus driver. It’s going to affect the staff, the teachers that taught this kid, and it’s going to affect the community itself.”
Desormeaux represents the Carencro area. His children actually went to school with Joiner, and he said officials are trying to keep things as normal as possible this week at Carencro High.
“The kids already knew something was different by our presence for one; but two, we also have extra counselors there today. You have extra SROs roaming around today. So today, it’s been a little different to where we’re just being cautious,” explained Desormeaux.
So far, 19-year-old Malikai Doucet has been arrested by the sheriff’s office and charged with second-degree murder, per KADN. he’s being held on a $350,000 bond. Authorities confirmed he is not a student at Joiner’s high school.
Residents told News 15 that based on a previous shooting in the area, they believe the killing of Joiner was in retaliation for that incident. However, there is no evidence that Joiner had anything to do with any of it. For now, his family prepares to say their last goodbyes. They’ve set up a GoFundMe for their funeral expenses.