In the early moments of Saturday, September 12, 2026, a vehicle sped through the streets of southwest Shreveport, Louisiana, carrying 26-year-old David Young and 31-year-old LaJames Smith. Shortly after midnight, their journey came to an abrupt and violent end when their car crashed into a building in the 6500 block of Mansfield Road. Responding to reports of a shooting just after 12:00 a.m., Shreveport Police officers arrived at the scene to find both men inside the wrecked vehicle, each
suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency services transported both Young and Smith to Ochsner LSU Health, but their injuries were too severe. Smith was pronounced dead at 12:37 a.m., followed by Young at 12:45 a.m.
Investigators soon pieced together a chilling sequence of events. Video footage from the city's Real Time Crime Center revealed the crash was not the primary cause of their deaths. The footage showed that approximately 40 seconds after the victims' car had crashed, a gray SUV pulled up to the scene. An unidentified individual exited the SUV, approached the disabled vehicle, and fired numerous rounds into it in what was described as an execution-style shooting, before getting back in the SUV and fleeing the scene. The deaths of Young and Smith marked the 31st and 32nd homicides in Shreveport for the year 2026.
The double homicide was the beginning of an exceptionally violent weekend in Shreveport, during which a total of five people were killed in separate incidents. In the wake of the bloodshed, police officials stated that they did not believe the killings were random acts of violence. They indicated that in most of the cases from that weekend, the victims and their attackers had some prior acquaintance. While authorities have publicly identified a gray SUV as the suspect vehicle in the murders of David Young and LaJames Smith, the investigation remains ongoing. Police have appealed to the public for any information that might lead to a breakthrough in the case, encouraging witnesses to contact Shreveport-Caddo Crime Stoppers. As of now, no arrests have been made, and no suspects have been publicly named in connection with the shooting, leaving a case that authorities believe is solvable but, for the moment, unresolved.
