Man in serious condition following shooting in Welsh
Last Modified: Saturday, June 16, 2012 9:36 PM
By Doris Maricle / American Press
WELSH — Police are investigating a shooting early Friday that left a man in serious condition and a woman with lesser injuries.
Police Chief Tommy Chaisson said officers received a 911 call at 3:30 a.m. about a shooting in a residence in the 500 block of Brookwood, in Willowood Estates, just off Joseph Street and U.S. 90.
The call is believed to have been made by the injured woman, he said. The victims had been shot in the bedroom, and the back door had been kicked in, Chaisson said. The woman had been shot once in the lower leg, and the man had been shot multiple times, Chaisson said.
The woman, identified by a family member as Rakisha Hill, was treated and released from Jennings American Legion Hospital. The man, identified as Jermaine Washington, is described as Hill’s close friend. He was taken to a Lake Charles hospital, Chaisson said.
A third person was staying in the home, but had reportedly gone to a store just before the shooting, the family member said. There are no suspects or a known motive for the shootings, Chaisson said.
Police suspect the shooter entered through the back door, leaving a muddy shoe print on it. A crime scene investigator made plaster casts of other shoe prints found on the ground outside the residence.
The shooting is the latest in a string of homicides and other gun violence that has plagued the city since early 2011. “We’re not sure if this is connected (to the previous shootings), random, domestic or what,” Chaisson said.
The victim’s sister, Rafaella Hill — who lives across the street with her children and grandchild — said the shooter kicked in the back door and went through the kitchen, living room and dining room before entering the bedroom on the south corner of the residence, where the victims were shot.
“I didn’t hear anything until my nephew came looking for his son,” she said.
Rafaella Hill was waiting outside the home Friday as a forensic team from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office processed the crime scene. She wanted to clean the blood up before her sister returned home. “It’s a bloody massacre in there,” she said.
She said Rakisha Hill had lived alone in the residence since the subdivision opened in January. Rafaella Hill and another relative live nearby.
“We went to work yesterday and got off at 2 p.m., then I talked to her last night about 8:30 p.m.,” she said. “All was fine. She was laughing and talking.”
Rafaella Hill said the escalating crime in Welsh concerns her, especially now that it has hit so close to home.
“They’ve had murders that have been unsolved,” she said. “I don’t feel safe. Something needs to be done about the shootings and killings. It really makes people feel unsafe.
“I wish if anybody that saw anything or heard anything, that they would come forward to help solve it,” she said. “There are too many murders going unsolved. We are fortunate they were not killed. It could have been them.”
Neighbor Stacey McClelland said she was shocked to wake up to find police surrounding her neighbor’s house.
“I’m a light sleeper, but I didn’t hear anything until I looked out this morning and saw them all around,” she said. “Overall this is a very quiet place, so I was shocked to see all the police cars.”
Chaisson said police are doing everything they can to solve crimes in the town, but that they need the public’s help. “I know citizens are frustrated. We are, too,” Chaisson said. “We need cooperation of the citizens to help us resolve this.”
Anyone with information should contact the Welsh police at 734-2626.
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