In the six days since John Russel Houser opened fire on moviegoers at the Grand Theatre, two others have lost their lives in shootings just miles away.
After Dravin Stevenson, 18, was shot to death Monday in a home on Sunnyside Lane and Deontra Alexander, 19, was found dead Wednesday in a 12th Street apartment, the north Lafayette community is hurting.
Police are still investigating both shootings, as well as one Tuesday on North Loop Street that moderately injured two.
“This doesn’t make a lick of sense,” said Lester Logan, who lives across the street from the apartment in which Alexander died.
Logan alerted police after hearing a gunshot from the apartment.
“It was so loud,” he said. “I thought I was going to find someone laid out on our front yard.”
Logan said he didn’t know Alexander well, but was a good friend of Stevenson.
“He was an all-around good person,” Logan said before tearfully pausing.
Although Stevenson was only 18, he wouldn’t let anyone mess with him, Logan said.
“He was always smiling,” he said. “There were times when he’d get angry, but five minutes later, he’d be smiling again.”
This wasn’t the first time Logan dealt with losing a friend.
Logan and Stevenson were close to Jo’nathan Delacroix, who was killed after he and another student, Anthony Beloney, were handling what they thought to be an unloaded firearm.
It went off, and killed Delacroix. Beloney is charged with negligent homicide.
Stevenson was a pallbearer at Delacroix’s funeral about two months ago. The two played basketball together for Northside High School.
“After Jo died, we spent a lot of time hanging out over (at Jo’nathan’s mom’s house),” he said.
In the two months since Delacroix died, Logan said he became even closer to Stevenson.
“We had to stick together for Jo,” he said. “We were supposed to stick together for Jo, but it didn’t work out that way.”
Another victim of Monday’s shooting is still in the hospital, and was last reported in critical condition.
Quentin J. Cooper is in custody in connection to Stevenson’s murder, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Lynel Blackburn, who police believe pulled the trigger on Stevenson.
Logan said he and Stevenson did not know either Cooper or Blackburn, both natives of Morgan City.
“These people are coming in from other towns and causing us eternal pain,” he said. “It’s not cool.”
Lafayette Police Department Public Information Officer Cpl. Paul Mouton said police have “good” leads on the Tuesday Loop Street shootings.
Police arrested Felix Pierre III Wednesday in connection to the 12th Street homicide.
Anyone with information about the homicides is encouraged to call Lafayette Police or Crime Stoppers at 232-TIPS.