In the early morning hours of a November day in Shreveport, Louisiana, a deeply troubling discovery was made that would forever alter a family. A woman, concerned for the well-being of her son, arrived at a home in the Cedar Grove area to check on him. The back door was ominously open, and upon entering, she was met with a scene of unimaginable horror. Inside, she found the bodies of three of her family members, all of whom appeared to have been shot.
The victims of this tragic event were later identified as 18-year-old Joshua Perry, his 29-year-old sister Adriana Perry Rigsby, and her 12-year-old son, Xavier Perry. Joshua was a male who was on the cusp of adulthood, a senior at Booker T. Washington High School with his future stretching out before him.
The investigation into the triple homicide quickly focused on one individual: Barry Rigsby, Adriana's 36-year-old husband. Authorities believed the killings were the result of a domestic dispute. A statewide search for Rigsby was initiated as he fled the Shreveport area. His car was eventually spotted approximately 150 miles away, near an apartment complex in the town of Wisner. As Franklin Parish sheriff's deputies began to evacuate the complex, the situation escalated when Rigsby fired at the officers from within one of the apartments.
The armed confrontation prompted the involvement of the Louisiana State Police SWAT team. As they methodically cleared the apartments, they encountered the armed suspect. During the tense standoff, tear gas was deployed into the apartment where Rigsby had barricaded himself. In the ensuing exchange, Barry Rigsby was shot and fatally wounded by law enforcement personnel. His death brought an end to the manhunt, but it also meant that he would never face a trial for the deaths of Joshua Perry, Adriana Perry Rigsby, and Xavier Perry. The loss of the three family members, particularly young Joshua and his nephew Xavier, who was an honor roll student at Ridgewood Middle School, left a lasting scar on their loved ones and the Shreveport community.
