On a summer afternoon in New Orleans, what should have been an ordinary day turned into a scene of devastating violence that claimed the life of Stephen George Jr. The 61-year-old man became a victim of a brazen shooting on July 2, 2019, an event that also tragically ended the life of his stepson, Kendrick Cockerham. The fatal encounter took place in New Orleans East, at the intersection of Downman and Dwyer roads, at approximately 2:21 p.m.
The sequence of events, captured on
surveillance video later released by the New Orleans Police Department, was both swift and brutal. An unidentified assailant, driving a silver older model F-150 pickup truck with tinted windows, arrived at the scene and opened fire on Stephen George Jr. Shortly after the initial shooting, Kendrick Cockerham, 40, arrived to check on his stepfather, only to be met with the same senseless violence. The perpetrator returned to the scene and shot Cockerham before making a final escape.
In the wake of this double homicide, the New Orleans Police Department actively sought assistance from the public, circulating the surveillance footage in the hopes that someone might recognize the gunman or the vehicle used in the commission of the crime. Crimestoppers also became involved, offering a substantial monetary reward for any information that could lead to an arrest and conviction in the case. Despite these efforts and the public pleas for information, there have been no publicly available reports detailing any arrests or the identification of any suspects in the murders of Stephen George Jr. and Kendrick Cockerham. The case, a painful memory for their family and community, appears to remain unresolved.
