On the evening of October 5, 2024, a burst of violence on Interstate 49 in Carencro, Louisiana, claimed the life of 22-year-old Isaiah Alazeem Sam, a Black male from nearby Church Point. The incident unfolded as a shootout erupted between two vehicles traveling along the highway. This exchange of gunfire led to one of the vehicles crashing into the Super Six Inn on the frontage road. Inside this truck were five individuals, one of whom was Isaiah Sam.
He was tragically struck by the gunfire and succumbed to his injuries.
Isaiah, born on July 21, 2002, in Lafayette, was a man of many trades. He had worked as a deckhand for Mike Hooks, LLC, a horse trainer at Evangeline Downs, and a construction flagger for RPF. Demonstrating an entrepreneurial spirit, he also owned and operated his own trucking company, General Lane Trucking, LLC, for two and a half years. He was a husband, married for just seven months to his partner of many years, ShaniQua Pierre Sam, and a father to their son, Azylon Royal Alex.
In the wake of the deadly shooting, law enforcement initiated an investigation that quickly led to arrests. Carencro police, with the assistance of the Lafayette Police Department, apprehended three suspects in connection with the fatal incident. DeAndre Hippoly was the first to be taken into custody. Shortly after, Damien Doucette, 24, and Jerimiah Brown Jr., 21, both from Lafayette, were also arrested. All three men are facing serious charges, including one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder. Authorities have indicated that the investigation is ongoing and that more arrests may be forthcoming as they continue to piece together the events of that tragic night.
