In the early morning hours of July 29, 2025, a burst of gunfire outside a Shreveport motel shattered the pre-dawn stillness, leaving a scene of chaos and tragedy. When police arrived at the Session Levingston Motel on Pete Harris Drive just before 1 a.m., they discovered two individuals, a man and a woman, critically wounded. Both were rushed to Ochsner LSU Health for medical attention.
The female victim, later identified as 38-year-old Sherita Layton, a resident of Saint John Street in Shreveport, ultimately succumbed to her injuries.
The violence of that morning extended beyond the two initial victims. A third woman, caught in the pandemonium, sustained injuries from broken glass when her car crashed into a utility pole as she tried to escape the unfolding events. The man who was shot alongside Layton was last reported to be in critical condition. The incident was another grim chapter in a series of violent episodes that had plagued the city, raising alarm among residents and community leaders about the escalating gun violence.
In the wake of the shooting, law enforcement officials began an active investigation into the circumstances that led to Layton's death. Detectives are working to identify the shooter or shooters responsible for the violence at the motel. To date, authorities have not publicly identified any suspects in the murder of Sherita Layton, and no arrests have been announced in connection with the case. The investigation is ongoing, and police have urged anyone with information to come forward.
