In the early morning hours of February 28, 2023, a dispute that had been simmering for weeks between two men in Opelousas, Louisiana, tragically boiled over, leaving one of them dead. Harrison Indiana Bordenave, a 34-year-old man, was shot and killed at an Anytime Fitness on South Union Street. The incident, which occurred around 8:00 a.m., was the culmination of a series of disagreements with another local man, 34-year-old Jason Laday.
The conflict had escalated to the point where, just days before the fatal encounter, Bordenave had reported threats made by Laday to the Opelousas Police Department. According to a subsequent lawsuit filed by Bordenave's mother, Laday had allegedly approached her son at the gym on February 25, 2023, and made threatening remarks, including, 'Why you doing so much cardio, because you could not outrun a bullet.' The lawsuit contends that the police failed to take Harrison's report seriously, did not investigate the threats, and instead warned Bordenave that he could be arrested for filing a false report.
On that Tuesday morning, the animosity between the two men reached its violent conclusion. An argument that began inside the gym spilled out into the exterior, where Bordenave was struck by a single gunshot. Despite the immediate efforts of others at the gym and the quick response of first responders who performed life-saving measures, Harrison Bordenave succumbed to his injuries.
The alleged shooter, Jason Laday, was taken into custody by the Opelousas Police Department for questioning following the incident. He was later identified as the suspect and was set to be booked into the St. Landry Parish Jail on charges of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On April 27, 2023, a St. Landry Parish Grand Jury indicted Laday for the second-degree murder of Harrison Bordenave.
Harrison Bordenave, born on June 2, 1988, was a graduate of St. Augustine High School and a former member of the United States Marine Corps. His obituary described him as a talented artist, a gifted wordsmith, and a skilled soccer player who was deeply loved by his family. In the wake of his death, his mother, Charlotte Grandpré Bordenave, initiated legal action, not only against the man accused of killing her son but also against the city of Opelousas and its police department, alleging their negligence contributed to the foreseeable and tragic loss of her son's life.
