Opelousas police have identified the victim in Sunday morning’s shooting.
Courtesy Opelousas Police
Stanley Boxie, 49, of Opelousas, died of multiple gunshot wounds. He was shot while in a vehicle in the driveway of his home in the 600 block of W. Martin Luther King Drive around 3 a.m., police say.
Investigators believe a semi-automatic assault rifle was used; although, they don’t know which one as of now. There are no suspects at this time. Investigators are attempting to verify the victim’s whereabouts prior to the shooting.
“The man was simply ambushed, in his car, arriving home and was gunned down,” Chief Martin McLendon tells KATC.
Hours later, Cory Levier, who describes himself as a spiritual leader, passed by the home where Boxie lived to offer his condolences to the victim’s family.
“Today is Father’s Day, and I’m with my family, but I stepped away from my family to pray for this family,” said Levier.
He says Boxie was concentrating on his career with hopes of big plans for the future.
“His uncle told me that he had plans for a business in the trucking industry, and he had tried to purchase a vehicle,” said Levier. “A lot of us have plans, and I’m sure he didn’t expect to be cut down in this way.”
Levier is hoping those in the community are going to start being proactive about decreasing gun-related deaths in the city.
“[Police Chief] Martin McLendon cannot do it by himself. The police cannot do it by themselves. They’re not here to rescue us. They’re here to do their job,” urged Levier. “It’s our responsibility to protect ourselves and to keep our neighborhoods safe.”
Chief McLendon says the investigation is ongoing, and they’re working every possible lead.
“This is a very unusual case that happened in the City of Opelousas, and because of how horrible this scene was this morning, we want to make sure that we cover all of our areas and give the investigators time to unfold that information,” the chief explained.
Anyone with any information regarding Boxie’s death is strongly urged to contact the Opelousas Police Department at 337-948-2500. All information will be treated as confidential.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Opelousas Police are working a fatal shooting.
The shooting happened at about 3 a.m. in the 600 block of W. Martin Luther King Drive.
One person is dead, police say.
This is a developing story; we’ll have more information as soon as it is available.
