A man was found fatally shot inside a Severn Avenue apartment, and deputies say the suspect was detained in the parking lot as the case began to unfold.
METAIRIE, La. — Jefferson Parish deputies made a fast arrest after a fatal shooting at a Metairie apartment complex Friday night, but officials had disclosed few details about the victim, the suspect’s connection to him, or what set off the gunfire.
Authorities said only that the victim was found in a living room with a gunshot wound to the chest and that 23-year-old Shaquille Lemay of New Orleans was taken into custody nearby and booked on a second-degree murder charge. That gave the case an immediate suspect, yet much of the broader picture remained unclear. As of Saturday, investigators had not identified the dead man, described the evidence behind the charge, or explained whether the shooting followed an argument, a visit, or some other encounter inside the apartment.
The shooting was reported at about 10:30 p.m. Friday at an apartment complex in the 2300 block of Severn Avenue, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. Deputies arrived to find the victim inside the apartment’s living room, suffering from at least one gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene. During the investigation, deputies located Lemay in a vehicle parked at the complex and took him into custody. From there, the case shifted from an emergency response to a homicide investigation. Even so, the sheriff’s office did not say whether deputies were directed to the vehicle by witnesses, surveillance footage, or evidence collected in the first minutes after officers entered the apartment.
What officials did not say may be as important as what they did. The sheriff’s office has not publicly described the relationship between Lemay and the victim. It has not said whether the apartment belonged to either man, whether others were present when shots were fired, or whether detectives believe the shooting was planned or spontaneous. The agency also has not announced the recovery of a firearm, though that does not mean one was not found. In many homicide cases, investigators release only limited details at the start while they lock down witness statements and avoid compromising later interviews. That appears to be the stage this case is in now.
The setting adds weight to the investigation. The 2300 block of Severn Avenue sits in a busy part of Metairie where apartments, traffic and nearby commercial activity can create both witnesses and confusion. A shooting inside a residential complex can leave detectives sorting through overlapping pieces of evidence: neighbors who heard gunfire but saw nothing, cameras that capture movements but not what happened indoors, and physical evidence that must be matched to a reliable timeline. Until the coroner identifies the victim and investigators outline the sequence of events, the public account of the case remains narrow. All that is clear so far is where the shooting happened, when deputies arrived and who was booked afterward.
Second-degree murder is one of the most serious charges in Louisiana, but the booking is only the opening step in the criminal process. Prosecutors and investigators still must build the case through forensic work, witness interviews and court filings that can test whether the arrest record is supported by probable cause. In the next stage, Lemay is expected to move through the standard court process for a felony case, while detectives continue collecting evidence and the coroner’s office works to formally identify the victim. Additional public records, including booking documents and future court dates, may bring more detail about what investigators believe happened inside the apartment before the fatal shot was fired.
For now, the case stands as a familiar but troubling pattern in local crime reporting: a burst of violence inside a home or apartment, a rapid police response, and a community left with only fragments while detectives work behind the scenes. The sheriff’s office has described the investigation as ongoing, which means the most important unanswered questions are still ahead. The victim’s identity, the suspected motive, the relationship between the two men and the evidence supporting the murder charge are all likely to shape how the case is understood once authorities choose to release more.
As of Sunday, the public record shows one man dead, one suspect jailed and an investigation still in its early stages. The next milestone will likely be the release of the victim’s identity or the first court appearance connected to the second-degree murder charge.
Author note: Last updated April 19, 2026.