Inset: Carl Morgan (Brennan’s New Orleans). Background: The New Orleans church where Morgan was killed while waiting for his son to get out of day care (Google Maps).
A 23-year-old man in Louisiana is accused of fatally shooting a 36-year-old father who was waiting to pick up his young child in the parking lot of a church day care.
Raymond Wells — who later suffered a gunshot wound to the head and is now in critical condition — will face a charge of first-degree murder in the slaying of Carl Morgan, authorities announced.
According to the New Orleans Police Department, officers at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday responded to calls about shots being fired in the area around the 3600 block of Bienville Street. Upon arriving at the location, first responders said they found shell casings and multiple cars that had been shot before discovering an adult male victim — later identified as Morgan — suffering from what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead in the back parking lot of a church and nursery in the 3400 block of Canal Street.
Detectives immediately began canvassing the area and searching for the shooter.
NOPD Chief of Detectives Nicholas Gernon said investigators learned “pretty quickly” that the man killed had been the victim of a carjacking. Using the department’s automatic license plate reading system, Gernon said they were able to track the car, which was recovered on the side of Interstate 10.
Police said they found Wells, the suspected killer, inside the vehicle, saying he had “been shot in the head.” He was transported to a local hospital where Gernon described him as being in “extremely grave condition.” However, despite his condition, investigators were able to secure an arrest warrant for Wells on the charge of first-degree murder.
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Gernon said that the investigation into who shot Wells is being conducted by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“The victim was simply in the parking lot picking up his child from nursery when Mr. Wells tried to carjack him and subsequently killed him,” Gernon said. “It was a truly horrible scene and a horrible crime.”
In response to a question from one of the journalists present, Gernon said investigators believe Wells was “up to something in that block” just prior to the murder, possibly breaking into cars in the area.
“Some individuals saw [Wells] and for some reason he opened fire on them,” he said. “Then he fled to the back side of the church where he encountered our carjacking victim.”
Local Fox affiliate WVUE reported that Morgan was a sous chef at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans and those who knew him reportedly told the station that his child meant the world to him.
“What was most important was his son and how much of a dad he was,” Brennan’s Restaurant General Manager Christian Pendleton said.
