× Fatal Shooting of 2 Black Men in Baton Rouge May Be Racially Motivated, Police Say

Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said Sunday the killings of two black men in separate incidents last week are linked and may have been racially motivated.

The victims, 49-year-old Donald Smart and 59-year-old Bruce Cofield, were shot to death two days and a couple of miles apart, Baton Rouge Police Sgt. L’Jean Mckneely said.

In both instances, the suspect shot the victim from a car, Mckneely said. After the victims fell, the suspect got out of the car, walked to the victims and fired several more shots.

Shell casings found at the scenes, the descriptions of the shooter’s car and witness accounts helped investigators link the incidents, Mckneely said.

A 23-year-old white man from Baton Rouge is a person of interest in the case, Mckneely said. The man was taken into custody Saturday when police stopped a car matching the description of the vehicle used in the shootings, and he was being held Sunday on drug-related charges.

Smart’s body was found late Thursday on Alaska Street, around the corner from his home, police said. Cofield, who was believed to be homeless, was killed on Florida Street, about two miles to the north. </s> Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said Sunday the killings of two black men in separate incidents last week are linked and may have been racially motivated.

The victims, 49-year-old Donald Smart and 59-year-old Bruce Cofield, were shot to death two days and a couple of miles apart, Baton Rouge Police Sgt. L’Jean Mckneely said.

In both instances, the suspect shot the victim from a car, Mckneely said. After the victims fell, the suspect got out of the car, walked to the victims and fired several more shots.

Shell casings found at the scenes, the descriptions of the shooter’s car and witness accounts helped investigators link the incidents, Mckneely said.

A 23-year-old white man from Baton Rouge was taken into custody on drug-related charges Saturday after police stopped a car matching the description of the vehicle used in the shootings.

The man was released from jail Sunday after posting a $3,500 bond, Savannah Jones with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s office told CNN.

Smart’s body was found late Thursday on Alaska Street, around the corner from his home, police said. Cofield, who was believed to be homeless, was killed on Florida Street, about two miles to the north. </s> iStock/Thinkstock(BATON ROUGE, La.) — Authorities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are investigating whether two related shootings of black men in one week were racially motivated.

A homeless man, Bruce Coefield, was killed on Tuesday and two days later Donald Smart was gunned down on his way to work just five miles away near Louisiana State University.

Authorities said they found matching shell casings at both crime scenes and in both cases, the shooter got out of his car and fired the victims multiple times.

Police have detained Kenneth Gleason for questioning in the case, but the 23-year-old white man was booked on drug charges. Officials have stressed they are also looking into other motives.

“It’s disheartening to know that that’s happening in Baton Rouge, but we’re pushing forward with all our investigations, the community has been forthcoming with assisting us,” Baton Rouge Police Sergeant L’Jean McKneely said. </s> A man questioned about two possibly racially-motivated homicides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana has been released on bail after a drug arrest, reports say.

Mr Gleason was arrested on suspicion of drug possession unrelated to the killings. Kenneth Gleason, 23, posted his $3,500 bail and was released from prison, according to the Advocate, a newspaper in Baton Rouge.

​He was questioned for hours about the slaying of two black men, but not arrested.

Baton Rouge Police spokesman Don Coppola told the newspaper that Mr Gleason remains a person of interest in the case and that the investigation is still ongoing.

Both shootings - one on Tuesday happened about five miles from each other and within the same timeframe, between 10.45pm and 11.15pm, Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman L'Jean McKneely told the Advocate.

In both homicides, the shooter was wearing dark clothes, including possibly a tactical vest, and carrying a 9-mm handgun.

The first of the two potentially linked shootings occurred on Tuesday night when Bruce Cofield, 59, who was homeless, was gunned down. The second happened on Thursday night when Donald Smart, 49, was shot while walking work. He was a dishwasher at Louie’s Cafe, a popular spot for Louisiana State University students.

Both victims had no known prior relationship to Mr Gleason, who is white.

“We believe (the shootings) could possibly be racially motivated,” Mr McKneely said.

In both homicides, the gunman shot a lone pedestrian from inside a red “small, older sedan with shiny rims” and then left the vehicle and “shot them to death”, according to an internal Baton Rouge police bulletin that was distributed to Louisiana law enforcement, the Advocate reported.

According to the newspaper, shell casings matched from the two killings and Mr Gleason's car fit the description of the vehicle used.

When detectives searched Mr Gleason’s home on Saturday night, they found marijuana and human growth hormones in his bedroom and bathroom, the Advocate said.

Louisiana’s capital, a city of 229,000, is known for its championship college football team and its political scene. A year ago, racial tensions roiled the city when a black man was shot to death by white police officers outside of a convenience store.

About two weeks later, a black gunman targeted police in an ambush, killing three officers and wounding three others before he was shot to death. The city is about 55 per cent black and 40 per cent white. </s> (Reuters) - A 23-year-old white man was arrested on Tuesday and will be charged with murder in the shooting deaths of two black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, local and state authorities said at a news conference.

Kenneth Gleason is accused of carrying out the killings on Sept. 12 and Sept. 14. Local media reported that police have said the killings may be racially motivated, but officials on Tuesday would not confirm that. </s> DONALDSONVILLE, Louisiana — Authorities say a man suspected in two shootings that left five people dead in Louisiana has been arrested in Virginia.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre and Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said in a statement that 21-year-old Dakota Theriot was arrested Sunday by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

The news release says Theriot will be brought back to Ascension Parish and booked on two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion, and illegal use of weapons.

Authorities say Theriot shot and killed three people Saturday morning in one parish before going to his parents’ house in a neighboring parish and killing them before fleeing.

Ard said Saturday that Theriot was believed to have been in a relationship with one of the victims, Summer Ernest. Her brother and father were also killed. </s> Police believe the slayings of two black men in Louisiana were likely racially motivated and said Sunday they have a suspect — a 23-year-old white man — in custody.

RELATED: A man who burned his girlfriend’s toddler could spend a half-century in prison

Kenneth Gleason of Baton Rouge is being held on drug charges, but authorities do not yet have enough evidence to charge him with murder, Baton Rouge Sgt. L’Jean McKneely told The Associated Press.

“There is a strong possibility” the shootings could have been racially motivated, McKneely said.

McKneely said shell casings from each killing matched, and a car belonging to Gleason fit the description of the vehicle police were seeking. He said police had collected other circumstantial evidence but wouldn’t say what it was.

Police say the shootings happened about 5 miles apart. The first occurred Tuesday when 59-year-old Bruce Cofield, who was homeless, was shot to death, the Baton Rouge Advocate reported.

The second happened Thursday when 49-year-old Donald Smart was gunned down walking to work, The Advocate reported. </s> A 23-year-old white man was arrested on Tuesday and will be charged with murder in the shooting deaths of two black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, authorities said.

Kenneth Gleason is accused of carrying out the killings on Sept. 12 and Sept. 14. Local media reported that police have said the killings may be racially motivated, but officials would not confirm that.

The suspect was charged on Tuesday with two counts of first degree murder in the killings of Bruce Cofield and Donald Smart, as well as two counts of attempted first degree murder in an unrelated shooting.

In both incidents a motorist opened fire on a pedestrian, said Parish of East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore. Once the victims were on the ground, Moore said, the assailant got out of the car and shot them again several times.

Moore said prosecutors may seek the death penalty for Gleason if he is convicted.

But Moore said that even if the killings were determined to be racially motivated, it was unlikely Gleason would also face hate crime charges.

“You can’t kill him twice,” Moore told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday, saying such a charge was unnecessary in a death penalty case.

Baton Rouge Police spokesman Sergeant L’Jean McKneely would not say if the killings were racially motivated, but added, “We’re not completely closed off to that.”

Interim Baton Rouge Police Chief Jonny Dunnam noted the city has suffered racial turmoil in the past year or so.

In July 2016, a 37-year-old black man, Alton Sterling, was killed while scuffling with two police officers outside a convenience store. In May, the two officers were spared federal charges but still face a state investigation.

Twelve days after Sterling’s death, a 29-year-old black man opened fire on Baton Rouge police, killing three officers before being fatally shot himself.

If police had not been able to bring “a swift conclusion” to last week’s killings, Dunnam said, “(Gleason) could have potentially created a tear in the fabric that holds this community together.”

McKneely would not comment when asked about reports that Nazi and satanic literature had been at the house where Gleason lived with parents outside Baton Rouge.

Gleason was detained on Saturday by a Baton Rouge police officer who recognized him from the description of the shooter driving a red car. Had Gleason not been arrested, said Dunnam, “this killer probably would have killed again.”

Gleason will also be charged with shooting into an occupied residence near his parents’ house. Moore said the homeowners were black. No one was injured in that Sept. 11 incident, he said. </s> Shootings in Louisiana: What we know

Five people are dead in two separate — but related — incidents.

Dakota Theriot, 21, was arrested Sunday morning in Virginia on first-degree murder and other charges.

Two of the victims were the suspect's parents.



Evelyn Ernest, the mother of one victim and grandmother of two others, told CBS News that her granddaughter and the suspect were briefly in a romantic relationship.



New Orleans — Authorities in Louisiana said a 21-year-old accused of killing his parents and three others in two separate but related shootings Saturday has been arrested in Virginia after an overnight manhunt. Dakota Theriot, who faces charges of first-degree-murder, illegal use of weapons and home invasion, was captured Sunday in Richmond County, Virginia.

The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office announced Theriot's arrest in a Facebook post Sunday morning and said he will be brought back to Louisiana to face charges.

Authorities say Theriot first shot and killed three people — the woman believed to be his girlfriend, her brother and father — in Livingston Parish before taking her father's truck and driving to neighboring Ascension Parish where he shot and killed his parents.

Deputies with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Virginia said they received a request from a family member of Theriot's to check their residence. While the deputies were on site, Theriot arrived at the residence with a firearm pointed out the window of a vehicle, police said. The deputies sought cover and Theriot dropped the weapon upon command and was arrested, police said.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre told a news conference that deputies were called to a trailer in the city of Gonzales for a "domestic incident" on Saturday morning. Upon arrival, deputies found two people who had been shot but were still alive: Elizabeth and Keith Theriot, both 51. CBS affiliate WAFB-TV reports the couple was shot in the bedroom, authorities said.

Dakota Theriot Richmond County Sheriff

Deputies were able to interview Keith Theriot before the couple was transported to a hospital in Baton Rouge, where they later died. From that interview, authorities identified Dakota Theriot, the couple's son, as "our prime suspect in this case," Webre said.

The sheriff said three other shooting deaths occurred Saturday in neighboring Livingston parishes, about 70 miles west of New Orleans. Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard confirmed on Facebook that three deaths happened in his parish and identified the victims as Billy Ernest, 43; Tanner Ernest, 17; and Summer Ernest, 20.

There were two juveniles found at the scene, a 7-year-old and a 1-year-old, both of whom are safe, Ard said.

Ard said Summer Ernest and Dakota Theriot were in a relationship and that Theriot had been living with her family for a few weeks.

Webre said the three victims in Livingston were shot first, and he then shot his parents.

Theriot had been considered "armed and dangerous" and was last seen driving a stolen 2004 gray and silver Dodge Ram pickup.

Evelyn Ernest, the mother of Billy Ernst and grandmother of Tanner and Summer, told CBS News that Summer and the suspect were briefly in a romantic relationship. She said she met Theriot only once.

Theriot's parents were shot in their trailer on Saturday morning.

"The father was gravely injured at the time we found him and has since passed away," said Webre. But before he died, Webre said authorities were able to get a "dying declaration from him, and only enough information to let us know that it was his son that committed this act."

Webre had said there were indications that Theriot was traveling east and could have been in another state.

"We're going to work every lead. We're going to follow every tip," he said during the evening news conference.

Ard said Dakota Theriot was believed to be armed with at least one handgun.

"We do not have a motive. It is still undetermined," Ard said.

Crystal DeYoung, Billy Ernest's sister, told The Associated Press that she believes Theriot had just started dating her niece, Summer Ernest.

"My family met him last weekend at a birthday party and didn't get good vibes from him," DeYoung said. She said she wasn't sure how her niece and Theriot met, but that she believed the relationship was relatively new.

"My mom is a good judge of character and she just thought he was not good," DeYoung said of Theriot.

DeYoung said she skipped the birthday party and didn't meet Theriot herself. DeYoung said Summer and Tanner Ernest were two of Billy's three children. He was also raising his wife's children.

DeYoung said Theriot doesn't have a vehicle and she's not sure how he ended up at the Ernest home on Saturday, but after the killings, he took off in her brother's truck.

There were also two young children in the home at the time. DeYoung said a 7-year-old took the baby out of the house and went to a neighbor's.

DeYoung said her brother, niece and nephew were good people.

"They all had very good hearts. They trusted people too much," she said, as she began crying. "They all loved unconditionally."

Charlenne Bordelon lives near the house where the Ernests were killed. She told The Advocate newspaper that two young children from the house ran to her home. They were uninjured and asked for help after the shooting.

Bordelon said Theriot was the older daughter's boyfriend and that he'd recently moved in with the family but she did not know him.

Webre said Dakota had lived with his parents briefly but was asked to leave the residence and not return.

"I would not approach this vehicle. We feel no doubt that Dakota is going to be armed and dangerous, and we need to bring him to justice really quick," Webre said.

Webre said Dakota Theriot had some run-ins with law enforcement in other parishes that he described as misdemeanor-type incidents that did not include violence: "Certainly nothing of the magnitude that we've seen today."
Two African-American men are killed in separate incidents near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a third home is shot at in what local and federal officials call racially-motivated crimes. A local man is arrested on suspicion of the murders.