Willis Thomas, Harvey shipyard shooting suspect targets two former co-workers days after getting fired at Louisiana’s FMT shipyard outlet. Suspect killed in police shoot out. Gunman had criminal history.
A former Louisiana shipyard worker is alleged to have shot and killed two workers at a West Bank shipyard on Monday. The suspect in the murders was himself killed hours later in a shootout with deputies according to cops.
The victims were identified as 48-year-old Nakie James Brown and 20-year-old Dustin Parrie Jr., both of Harvey, according to the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s office. Their killer was identified as 31-year-old Willis Thomas Jr., also of Harvey.
Of note, Harvey had been fired days ahead of Mondays Harvey shipyard shooting. It wasn’t immediately clear what led to the man’s firing and why Willis came to target two former colleagues at the FMT shipyard and repair outlet.
Each victim was shot 5 to ten times by gunman
The former worker according to Jefferson Parish court records was a convicted felon who recently served a year in prison and completed five years of probation stemming from a 2017 guilty plea for robbing a man near Westwego.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto during a Tuesday press conference said his office believed Willis targeted two men who worked in the same labor crew as him.
‘From what I understand they were labor-type jobs. I think they were part of a grass-cutting crew, that type of stuff, just labor-type,’ Lopinto said from the scene. ‘But believe me, obviously the motive was to kill his former coworkers.’
Lopimnto said that the shooter was recently fired from his job and turned up at the shipyard unannounced before killing two employees.
Each of the two victims was hit by five to 10 bullets to the arms, legs, torso and head, many of them fired from behind the victims NOLA reported citing Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich.
‘He was holding a grudge,’ a current employee told of Willis via WDSU.
Thoughts and prayers…
Lopinto says Thomas was picked up from FMT shipyard by his mother, who ‘didn’t know anything,’ and brought to his home at an apartment complex on Manhattan Boulevard, 3 miles away from the murder scene.
Lopinto said units converged on the apartment and observed Thomas coming out onto his balcony several times. He says the suspect came down the steps and walked over to a dumpster when he spotted deputies and took off on foot.
Thomas then reportedly produced a firearm and began shooting at deputies. Lopinto said multiple deputies returned fire, fatally striking the gunman.
‘He came out of the apartment came down the steps of the apartment itself and walked over to a dumpster area. When he saw units in the area. He ended up started running from them. They began converging he actually picked up his firearm and started firing shots on our officers. I have numerous officers that returned fire at that point in time and he is now pronounced dead here,’ Lopinto said according to FOX8Live.
FMT released a statement offering thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families:
“A tragic shooting event occurred earlier this afternoon at the FMT Shipyard in Harvey, LA. The Company understands that the shooting involving one shooter and two victims occurred today among contract workers at the facility. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.”
