Woodrow Smith, a 35-year-old man, was fatally shot in New Orleans on July 24, 2017. A lifelong resident of the city, he was a beloved son, father, and brother. The incident that claimed his life unfolded in the Desire neighborhood, a community grappling with the persistent issue of gun violence.
On that Monday afternoon, at approximately 2:55 p.m., New Orleans Police Department officers responded to reports of a shooting near the intersection of France Road and Almonaster Avenue. Upon their arrival, they discovered Smith in the middle of the road, suffering from gunshot wounds. Emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene, but Smith's injuries proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead. The Orleans Parish Coroner's Office later officially identified the victim as Woodrow Smith.
The New Orleans Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation, gathering evidence and seeking information from the public to identify a motive and the person or persons responsible for the shooting. For a period, the case remained one of the many unsolved homicides in the city.
A significant development in the case came to light in October 2024. Derrick Groves, described as a man who reigned terror in the Lower Ninth Ward for over a decade, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter, one of which was for the death of Woodrow Smith. This plea was part of a larger case against Groves, who was also convicted and sentenced for other violent crimes, including two counts of second-degree murder in a separate 2018 Mardi Gras Day killing. Groves' reign of terror was brought to an end as he was held accountable for a multitude of violent acts that had plagued the city.
