PM NEWSCALL
A suspected road rage incident Wednesday night leaves a 65-year old woman dead and a 23-year old man behind bars in Bossier City. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Many folks are recovering from yet another blow from Mother Nature in southwest Louisiana. Governor John Bel Edwards traveled to the scene earlier today.
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A possible road rage incident led to the death of 65-year-old Cynthia Walker who was shot in the parking lot of Willis-Knighton hospital Wednesday. The suspect is a 23-year old man and Bossier City Police Lt Bart Cavanagh says it happened shortly after seven last night and two off-duty officers were in the parking lot.
The suspect Ramsey Akes is charged with first-degree murder.
Cavanaugh says they are still investigating what motivated the shooting but it appears road rage may have been a factor.
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Walker was shot several times and Cavanaugh says neither the victim nor the suspect had any ties to the hospital, and it appears that the altercation began elsewhere and ended in the parking lot Willis-Knighton.
Akes is being held on a $275,000 bond.
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More than two dozen homes suffered damage when an EF-2 tornado ripped through an area south of Lake Charles early yesterday afternoon. The storm left two people with minor injuries. Governor John Bel Edwards surveyed the area this morning.
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Sustained winds from the twister are believed to have peaked at 130 miles per hour, tearing down trees and power lines and cutting electricity to 75-hundred Entergy customers.
The governor notes the weather trauma that southwest Louisiana has gone through over the past two years, and now yesterday’s tornado is obviously very trying.
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Edwards noted the power of the storm.
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The National Weather Service is still assessing the damage from the storm to better pinpoint just how powerful it was and how many homes were impacted by the twister.
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Walker Police are working hard to reunite a Nike lunch bag with its owner. The black and white bag was found among some debris on Florida Bouvard Wednesday and Walker Police Captain John Sharp says the bag just happen to have 120 oxycodone tablets in it.
The insulated lunch bag also contains nearly 50 grams of cocaine and a few other items inside. Sharp says they are not releasing those details so the owner can properly identify their bag.
Sharp says it is highly unlikely the owner will claim the lunch bag, but stranger things have happened.
Walker Police are asking the owner to visit them at their new location in the old City Hall building or if you know the owner give them a call so they return it in person. You can see a photo of the bag on the Walker Police Department’s Facebook page.
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The founder of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, Don Briggs, is hospitalized and his wife is dead after a car crash yesterday morning on I-12 in Tangipahoa Parish. State Police Trooper William Huggins says 77-year-old Nannette Briggs died at the scene from a collision with a truck that was stopped due to traffic congestion
Huggins says after impact with the trailer, the Lafayette couple’s Toyota Land Cruiser began to travel off the road and overturn…
The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association says Don Briggs is expected to recover fully from his injuries. Huggins says it’s a reminder to all drivers to make good choices when traveling…
As part of the ongoing investigation, toxicology samples were obtained from both drivers for analysis. Investigators have determined Nannette Briggs was not buckled up, while Don Briggs was properly restrained.