A family gathering on Delta Place Road in New Roads, Louisiana, ended in deadly gunfire on the evening of September 17, 2021. A verbal argument among several relatives lasted about 40 minutes and police were called before shots were fired, but the shooter had already left the scene. Morris J. Hollins, then 23, produced a firearm and opened fire; his cousin Gerell Deshawn Hollins, 25, was shot nine times and died at the scene. Howard Glenn Hollins Jr., 34, was struck in the back by a bullet and also killed. A third family member, Gregory Hollins, was shot in the hip and survived.

Morris Hollins surrendered to the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office on September 20, 2021, and was arrested on multiple counts, including two counts of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. A stray bullet damaged a neighbor’s home and investigators charged aggravated criminal damage to property; because of a prior 2019 felony weapon conviction, he was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Did anyone at the gathering or nearby see how the argument began or what precipitated the shooting?