THIBODAUX, La. — It’s a Thibodaux street lined with homes, one where kids were out playing Monday and where just two days before, a teenager was shot and killed.
“It’s just devastating for our city,” Public Information Officer Lt. Clint Dempster with the Thibodaux Police Department said.
It happened Saturday evening, just before 6:00 p.m. in the 1700 block of S. Barbier Avenue.
Thibodaux police got a call about someone being shot.
“Once we got there, we learned a subject had been shot multiple times in his back,” Dempster said.
Police identified that subject as Jarien Cole, 15, from neighboring Assumption Parish. Police didn’t say what he was doing in Thibodaux.
“It’s heartbreaking all the way around, from the police department side, to the city, and of course the victim’s family,” Dempster said.
Dempster said Cole was still alive when officers found him inside a home. He was then rushed to the hospital.
Cole was initially brought to Thibodaux Regional Health System but needed to be airlifted to University Medical Center in New Orleans for treatment. He died during that flight.
People who live on S. Barbier told Eyewitness News what happened is not only heartbreaking but shameful. They said they were fearful to talk on camera and worry about their neighborhood with a killer on the run.
“Our detectives have been working around the clock, following all leads necessary,” Dempster said.
Police are doing what they can to ease those worries and bring some closure to Cole’s family.
“We’re going to continue working around the clock until the suspect is captured and held responsible for his actions,” Dempster said.
Actions neighbors hope never to happen again.
If you know anything about this shooting, you’re asked to call Crime Stoppers Bayou Region at 1-800-743-7433 or online at www.crimestoppersbr.org. You will remain anonymous.