In the late afternoon hours of May 4, 2018, Desmond Hardnett, a 29-year-old male, was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The incident occurred around 5:40 p.m. in the 2200 block of Nairn Drive. Hardnett was with a 32-year-old woman who was also shot but sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Both victims were transported to a local hospital where Hardnett ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
Investigators from the Baton Rouge Police Department quickly
determined that the shots were fired from a passing vehicle. In the immediate aftermath, law enforcement officials stated that they had not identified a motive or any suspects in the shooting. The case was described as another unsolved shooting in the city, adding to a growing list of violent incidents.
Online sources and reports suggest that Hardnett's death was part of an ongoing and violent feud between rival gangs in Baton Rouge. A police report concerning a separate gang-related arrest lists Hardnett's death as one of the casualties in the conflict between the Top Boy Gorilla Gang and the associated Bottom Boy Gorilla Gang and Never Broke Again gangs. It is widely believed that his killing was a retaliatory act for the shooting death of Garrett 'Gee Money' Burton, a member of the TBG group, in September 2017. This cycle of violence continued to claim lives on both sides of the conflict. While there has been much speculation, there have been no official announcements regarding arrests or suspects specifically in connection with Desmond Hardnett's murder.
