In the early morning hours of May 30, 2022, the life of Kendol Payne, a thirty-one-year-old Black male, was tragically cut short in his Opelousas, Louisiana residence. Officers from the Opelousas Police Department were dispatched to an apartment on Ina Clare Drive shortly before 1:00 AM following a report of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered Payne inside, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
Despite the immediate response, emergency medical personnel could only confirm that he was deceased at the scene.
Investigators at the scene uncovered evidence suggesting a brutal and calculated attack. It appeared that the perpetrator or perpetrators had stood outside a rear bedroom window and fired numerous rounds into the home, striking Payne. After the barrage of gunfire, the suspects were seen fleeing the area, disappearing into the early morning darkness. The Opelousas Police Department promptly launched a homicide investigation, interviewing individuals who might have possessed information related to the fatal shooting.
In the days following the incident, authorities reached out to the public for assistance in solving the crime. St. Landry Crime Stoppers, in collaboration with the Opelousas Police Department, issued a plea for any information that could lead to the identification and apprehension of those responsible for Kendol Payne's death. A cash reward was offered for tips that would prove instrumental in resolving the case. Despite these efforts and the ongoing investigation, there have been no subsequent public announcements regarding any arrests, identified suspects, or persons of interest in connection with the murder. The case, as far as publicly available information indicates, remains an unsolved homicide.
