A workplace turned into a scene of tragedy on a Friday evening at the Mall of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana. Sherika Broussard, a 21-year-old employee at Victoria's Secret, was fatally shot while at work on August 25, 2006. The incident, which appeared to be domestic in nature, sent shockwaves through the community.
The gunman was identified as Broussard's 21-year-old ex-boyfriend, Nathan O'Neil Jr. of Lafayette.
O'Neil entered the stockroom of the Victoria's Secret store around 5:30 p.m. armed with a handgun and shot Broussard to death. According to police, the relationship between O'Neil and Broussard had recently ended, and he had been seen at the store prior to the shooting.
After the shooting, O'Neil fled the store, but his escape was short-lived. Mall security and an off-duty Lafayette police officer who was working security at the mall heard the gunshots and responded to the scene. Witnesses directed the officers to where O'Neil had fled. They confronted him in the parking lot as he was about to get into his vehicle. When O'Neil turned towards the officers with his weapon, one of the officers opened fire, killing him at the scene.
