A Bridge City man was killed on New Year's Eve when a stray bullet went through his apartment window as a group of car thieves shot at a woman trying to recover her stolen vehicle, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto said Tuesday.
Earlier that day, a woman found her stolen car in a parking lot near the 900 block of Beechgrove Boulevard in Bridge City.
She called the police, who filed a report and left the scene. She was waiting for a replacement key when a group of men, who police believe initially stole the car, began shooting at her, the sheriff said.
The women was uninjured, but a stray bullet went through a nearby apartment window, killing a "completely innocent victim," Lopinto said.
Tim Genevay, the director of forensic operations for the sheriff's office, identified the victim as 31-year-old Corey Warmington Jr.
It's tragic "to lose somebody so close to the new year, and especially in this way," Lopinto said.
The car was stolen from a nearby neighborhood, he said.
Before the shooting, there had been 31 homicides in Jefferson Parish in 2023, compared to 49 in 2022.
"We were having a pretty decent year when it comes down to it, but this one just hits home," Lopinto said.