Veronica Marie Billiot, a 59-year-old female, was tragically killed on Saturday, February 20, 2021, when she found herself in the midst of a violent altercation at a gun store in Metairie, Louisiana. An innocent bystander, she was at the Jefferson Gun Outlet to pick up a firearm she had purchased.
That afternoon, a man identified as 27-year-old Joshua Jamal Williams entered the establishment with a loaded pistol equipped with an extended clip.
An argument erupted between Williams and the store's staff regarding the rule that patrons' weapons must not be loaded while inside the store but not on the firing range. The confrontation escalated when Williams fired a warning shot before fatally shooting a store clerk, 47-year-old Noah Fiscbach.
In the ensuing chaos, a gunfight broke out between Williams and other employees and patrons in the store. During this exchange of gunfire, both Veronica Billiot and the instigator, Joshua Jamal Williams, were fatally wounded.
Described by loved ones as a devoted Christian and a dedicated mother to her three children and grandmother to her six grandchildren, Billiot's death was a profound loss to her family and community. She was the owner and broker of Billiot Real Estate LLC and had been an employee of Patrician Management at the Belle Chasse Naval Air Station since 2007. Her family hoped that her senseless death would bring attention to the need for greater mental and emotional health support for individuals in crisis.
