MELVILLE, La. (KLFY) – The family of two Melville brothers gunned down on the highway pleading for justice after one died and the other is in the hospital. 

Family remembers Shaq Smith and James Vaughn always by each other, but Shaq was taken Tuesday night. According to the St. Landry Sheriff’s Office, the brothers were regular customers at a gas station and diner in Krotz Springs. One employee reportedly asked them not to flirt with her because her boyfriend was jealous. Both agreed and sat in the dining area sharing their last meal when the boyfriend, Jaden Ardoin, entered with one other person and left upset.

Surveillance footage caught Ardoin’s vehicle heading east on Highway 190, and when the brothers left to head home they encountered Ardoin’s car driving slowly on Highway 105. When the brothers passed him, a chase began and authorities say Ardoin began shooting. Shaq told James he was hit. James reached across to steer but eventually crashed into a tree that caught fire.

“I feel like they just hunted down like animals, and just waited. You waited. You knew what you was planning on doing,” says Michelle Hayward, the victim’s aunt.

Shaq died before authorities arrived. His older brother, James, was rushed to the hospital in need of blood and surgeries for a broken hip and arm.

“Feels like a nightmare for him,” says Victoria Smith Gray, the victim’s cousin. “They were really close. They were the only brothers. They were the only two boys their momma had. All they had was each other, and to have their last ride together, their last meal together, and for him to wake up to look for his brother and he’s not there, you know, how do you live your life?”

Thursday morning, St. Landry Parish Deputies announced the arrest of Jaden Ardoin. The 18-year-old from Port Barre is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder with now bond.

“Everybody who played a part and knew about it. They could have stopped it. It could have been stopped,” says Gray.

St. Landry Parish Deputies did tell News 10 additional arrests are expected in this case.