In the spring of 2016, the life of a promising young man, Colin Norwood, was tragically cut short in an instant. The 21-year-old male from Baton Rouge was visiting an apartment in Lafayette, Louisiana, on the evening of Thursday, April 7th, when a single gunshot ended his life. The incident, which was initially reported as an accidental shooting, unfolded at The Edge apartments on North College Road.
According to police reports, Norwood was with a group of individuals inside one of the
apartments when the firearm discharged. He sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. The initial investigation suggested that the shooting was unintentional, a result of mishandling the weapon.
The investigation into Norwood's death quickly led to an arrest. David V. Shelvin, a 22-year-old resident of the apartment where the shooting occurred, was taken into custody by the Lafayette Police Department. Authorities determined that Shelvin was handling the gun when it fired, striking Norwood.
Following his arrest, David Shelvin was booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on one count of negligent homicide. The charge indicated that while there may not have been an intent to kill, the authorities believed Shelvin's actions were criminally negligent and directly led to Colin Norwood's death, forever altering the course of two young lives.
