In the early morning hours of October 18, 2019, a grim discovery was made in the 2700 block of Grassmere Street in Shreveport, Louisiana. Inside a parked van, the bodies of two 25-year-old men, Deonta White and LaDarien Walpool, were found. Both men, identified as African American, had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The night before, Shreveport police had responded to a call of shots fired in the same area but had been unable to locate any
evidence of a crime. It wasn't until the following morning, when residents began to notice bullet holes in their own vehicles, that authorities returned to the neighborhood and found the tragic scene inside the van.
The Caddo Parish Coroner's Office officially identified the victims. Autopsies were ordered to be performed at Oschner LSU Health to aid in the ongoing investigation. Law enforcement classified the case as a double homicide and began seeking information from the public to help piece together the events that led to the deaths of the two young men.
Despite the initial investigation and the passage of time, no suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made in connection with the murders of Deonta White and LaDarien Walpool. The case remains an open and active investigation as their families and the community continue to await answers and hope for justice to be served.
