Tyren Deondra Nettles, a 20-year-old Black woman from New Orleans, was caught in a burst of violence that began inside her own home in the city’s Central City neighborhood. On the evening of July 31, 2013, a group of armed intruders forced their way into the residence in the 2500 block of South Roman Street, turning what should have been an ordinary night into a frantic fight to survive.
As the invasion unfolded, Nettles was shot in the abdomen and on her right side.
Despite the wounds, she managed to get out of the house and reach a neighbor’s front door, pleading for someone to call 911. The attack left her with multiple gunshot wounds, and she ultimately died on August 8, 2013. In the days that followed, loved ones gathered to mourn and remember her, with funeral services announced later that month in New Orleans.
Investigators did not describe the incident as random, but at the time they reported no suspects. Public accounts tied to the investigation emphasized the forced entry by multiple assailants and the belief that the home was targeted for reasons not fully explained in the available reporting. In the years since, her name has continued to appear in city materials reflecting on lives lost to violence, underscoring how her death became part of a wider story of grief and unresolved questions in New Orleans.
