By Bonnie Culverhouse
A Claiborne Parish man and one from Webster have been arrested in conjunction with a shooting at Minden’s Ewell Park that injured four persons in Sunday.
Jamontae Holyfield, 21, of Homer is charged with 4 counts of attempted second degree murder and 4 counts of carjacking. Holyfield allegedly entered a car with persons who were not involved in the shooting and then demanded to be taken to another location.
Reginald Moore Jr., 19, of Heflin, is charged with 4 counts of attempted second degree murder and 1 count of illegal use of weapons.
“There are still a lot of people coming forward with information, tips are still coming in,” Minden Police Chief Jared McIver said. “People are calling, and things are rapidly changing.”
Chief said they are following the evidence, some of which has led them to Bienville Parish.
“We can’t say much about that right now, but some of it (the evidence) could be in the Arcadia area,” McIver said.
“Gangs cross over all the time,” he continued. “They are coming to Minden from Shreveport/Bossier, Bienville, Claiborne – they have no respect for property lines.”
The chief said multiple agencies are involved including Louisiana State Police and U.S. Marshals, allowing investigations and arrests out of parish and state.
“There were so many shooters; we have people that have fled the state, fled the city, we have many other entities working with us,” he said. “We want to make sure we do everything the way we know will get full prosecution.”
Two victims are still in critical condition, he said. One is still in ICU, three have been released, but one of those is critical due to the location of one of the bullets.
“She was shot in the back of the leg, the hip and the back,” said the chief. “The one in the back hasn’t been removed. If the bullet moves, it could paralyze her; if they try to remove it, that could paralyze her, too.”
Sunday’s shooting occurred during a permitted event at Ewell Park. The chief and mayor have released evidence showing the shooting is gang-related. One of those gangs is TTS “Trained to Step” that has been on Minden Police’s radar for more than a year.
During a press conference Tuesday, McIver said the two gangs shot at each other across a ball field and playground where there were children. Mayor Nick Cox also issued a moratorium on this type of permitted event within the city limits for the foreseeable future.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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