BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A college student was arrested and accused of murder Tuesday for the shooting that killed one man and wounded three children at a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday parade.
Brandon Johnson, 19, a student at predominantly black Southern University, was booked on murder and attempted murder charges early Tuesday for the shooting that scattered the crowd of 500 marching during King Day ceremonies the day before.
A grand jury is expected to hear the case against Johnson in about two to three weeks, and District Attorney Doug Moreau said he may ask for the death penalty if Johnson is indicted and goes to trial.
Police said the shooting resulted from a simmering dispute involving Johnson, the man killed in the shooting, 20-year-old James Carter, and others. The subject of the dispute remained unclear.
Carter was the intended victim, police chief Greg Phares said. Carter was watching his 17-year-old brother, a member of the band that led the march.
Other shots hit a 7-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy. All were in stable condition.
Phares said Johnson fired after a fist fight erupted along the parade route, but it was unclear whether Carter was involved in the fight.
“There was no racial, political or hate crime motive,” Phares said.
No other arrests were expected, he said.
When shots went off like firecrackers, Armond Brown, a high school assistant principal attending the march, made his way to the scene and helped everyone calm down, police said.
Brown said the outbreak of violence during a march celebrating King’s peaceful legacy was a reminder that children still need to learn about King and his teachings.
“There were few parents at the parade and that is the problem that plagues us all today — lack of parental involvement,” Brown said.
“It’s not that children don’t care about Mr. King’s view of non-violence. Sure, they hear about it a few times in school. But they don’t hear about it at home. Nothing gets solved until the parents get involved.”