Siblings killed in Algiers triple shooting Sunday, family members confirm

ALGIERS, La. (WVUE) - Police are investigating a triple shooting in Algiers that left a brother and sister dead and a third female injured.

The shooting happened on Sunday, March 28 around 1:40 p.m. at the Cypress Run Apartments in the 6100 block of Tullis Drive, police say.

Caleb Johnson, 18, and his sister Breyiana Brown were fatally wounded.

A third unidentified female was also shot but is expected to survive.

Both Johnson and the unidentified victim were seniors at Edna Karr High School, staff members say.

The Assistant Principal at Edna Karr High School says Johnson was set to graduate in a matter of weeks and had plans to join the Navy. Johnson played football and was on the homecoming court.

The CEO of InspireNOLA Charter Schools, Jamar McKneely, released a statement Monday saying, “I don’t understand it. Just 21 days until graduation and we lose a student, a scholar who was ready to graduate and conquer the world. We need to work together to protect our students and families. Our students should not fall victim to gun violence.”

In a preliminary report by the New Orleans Police Department, a spokesperson says the three victims were sitting in a vehicle attempting to sell a gun to the suspect.

Before the transaction was completed, the suspect opened fire.

Aunt of the siblings, Danette O’Neal, says it was Breyiana who was driving the car, adding that the family didn’t really know her as an adult.

“He loved his sister, you know, and he loves his family and that’s probably why he was in that spot on that day,” O’Neal said. “If the window was down and his seatbelt was on, he certainly was not expecting that to happen and definitely was in the wrong place, wrong time for him. He’s just not that kind of kid.”

O’Neal describes her nephew as energetic, excited to try new things, and an entrepreneur in the process of designing a new t-shirt line with her.

She says Johnson was not a street-wise kid, he was a stellar student, even in his virtual classes. She admires how he would get on his little brothers’ level to play with them and says he loved causing mischief with them.

“We have to do something about the disenfranchisement, because that’s how this happens. People are angry and they’re hurt and they lived in a cycle and they don’t value life anymore,” O’Neal said. “We gather, we talk about it, and then we forget about it until the next incident and that has to change. When that happens is just like the erosion has had an effect on the city from a biological or geographical standpoint, the community shrinks.”

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