McKenzie Rideau, Louisiana teen, 16, shot dead during hail of bullets at Lake Charles graduation house party. Victim attended Lake Charles College Prep. No arrests.
A 16 year old Louisiana teenage girl was killed when dozens of shots were fired at a Lake Charles graduation house party early Tuesday morning.
Lake Charles College Prep identified one of its students, McKenzie Rideau, 16, as the fatal victim.
The shooting in the University neighborhood is under investigation as a homicide, police said.
Why was Lake Charles graduation house party targeted?
‘We got a call right around midnight at 525 Central Parkway that someone had been shot. Upon arrival we did find that indeed a young lady had been shot,’ Lake Charles Police Chief Shawn Caldwell told press.
McKenzie was a volleyball player and flag line member with a ‘radiant smile and kind heart,’ LCCP Principal Dr. Freddie Harrison said in a released statement.
‘McKenzie was more than just a student, she was a light,’ Harrison wrote.
More than 40 shots rang out just after midnight at a house on the corner of Central Parkway and Dolby Street. The house, a short-term rental was being used to host a high school graduation party in a neighborhood that is generally quiet and safe, when tragedy struck.
Lake Charles police confirmed that McKenzie was the victim. Cops said dozens of people between 16 and 22 were at the home, which had been rented for the gathering.
Not immediately clear is how and why the rental home became a target of shooter(s).
‘I can tell you the detectives with the Lake Charles Police Department are working on identifying people who were there, identifying suspects, and they’re working very hard. We have some people of interest, an actual suspect, I don’t want to say suspect yet, but we have identified some people, and we still have a lot of work left to do,’ Lake Charles Police Chief Caldwell said.
Police said investigators continue to interview witnesses. At last word, no arrests have been made. It remained unclear how many perpetrators were involved in the fatal shooting.
The family of Rideau has since set up a GoFundMe.
LCPD asks anyone with information about the shooting to call them at 337-491-1311, or submit an anonymous tip HERE.
