In the late hours of Thanksgiving night, a tragic story began to unfold in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans. On Thursday, November 25, 2021, 17-year-old Brian Anthony Damans Travis, a male student at Sophie B. Wright Charter School, was found inside a vehicle in the 5900 block of Tullis Drive. He, along with another young man, had been fatally shot. The New Orleans Police Department responded to reports of the shooting at approximately 11:23 p.m.
and discovered the two victims, both of whom were pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds.
The initial investigation by the New Orleans Police Department labeled the case a homicide, and the department's homicide unit took the lead in the inquiry. In the immediate aftermath, law enforcement officials appealed to the public for any information that could shed light on the circumstances surrounding the double murder. Despite the ongoing investigation, for a considerable time, there were no publicly announced suspects or arrests made in connection with the deaths of the two teenagers, leaving a void of information for their grieving families and the community.
Years after the fatal shooting, a new development emerged in the cold case. On December 1, 2023, the New Orleans Police Department announced that their Homicide Section Cold Case detectives had identified a person of interest in the investigation. Authorities released the name and photograph of Travis Mitchell, stating that they believe he possesses crucial information vital to solving the case. While Mitchell is not currently facing criminal charges in this matter, detectives are seeking to locate and interview him. The investigation into the deaths of Brian Anthony Damans Travis and the other juvenile victim remains open, with law enforcement continuing to seek answers.
