Rene Williams, a 21-year-old Black woman, was killed on April 7, 2019, in Ville Platte, Louisiana, after what began as an ordinary drop-off turned into a burst of gunfire and panic. Police and later news reports said she went to a home in the 700 block of East Wilson Street to bring a child to Davonte Marquis Ardoin, described as her former boyfriend. Somewhere in that tense moment at the doorway, the situation snapped—shots rang out, and Williams was struck multiple times.
As Williams tried to get away, a witness from her family later told a reporter that she ran out the back door and was gunned down. Officers arriving at the scene were met not with surrender, but with more gunfire—one round slammed into a police vehicle, and the shooter retreated into the residence. With the neighborhood suddenly frozen under the sound of shots and sirens, multiple agencies rushed in to help lock down the area and form a perimeter around the house.
The violence didn’t stop with Williams. Authorities said a man who had come with her—identified as James Macias, 30—was also shot, reportedly five times, and taken to a hospital in Lafayette, where he underwent surgery and was later reported to be in stable condition. While officers held their positions outside, the suspect continued firing toward law enforcement. The standoff dragged on until officers from several agencies exchanged gunfire with him, and shortly after 7:00 p.m., he surrendered and was taken into custody. Williams’ body was found outside, in the backyard, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police identified Davonte Marquis Ardoin, 25, as the suspect and said he was booked into the Ville Platte City Jail. Reported charges included first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault on a police officer, criminal damage to property, false imprisonment with a firearm, and illegal use of a weapon or dangerous instrument; his bond was reported at $1,390,000. The accounts publicly available from that period focus on the arrest and the immediate aftermath, describing the case as an alleged homicide tied to a domestic relationship and a child exchange that ended in a deadly confrontation.
