Baton Rouge area pastor one of three siblings shot by Ponchatoula man

PONCHATOULA, La. (WVUE) - A Ponchatoula man accused of shooting three siblings during a family dispute at a trailer park was captured and arrested after fleeing into a wooded area, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday (May 23).

Casey Hallford, 31, was booked with three counts of attempted first-degree murder after the triple shooting, as well as with the illegal discharge of a weapon, authorities said.

Of the three siblings that were shot, the office of Holy Family Catholic Church in Port Allen says that Casey Hallford’s brother, Ryan Hallford, is their former pastor and that he is “on life support” in an ICU. Ryan Hallford is also the current Executive Director of Mission Integration at St. Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge, according to the school’s website.

A Ponchatoula woman who fled with Hallford -- 19-year-old Arianni Williams -- also was arrested on three counts of principal to attempted first-degree murder, according to Chief Jimmy Travis.

The sheriff’s office said deputies responded to reports of a shooting shortly after 11 a.m. at the Toula Oaks Trailer Park on South Range Road. A caller reported hearing around 15 gunshots and said a wounded man was lying in the road.

Investigators said they learned that during an argument with his family members, Hallford retrieved a gun from his bedroom and shot one of his siblings, then chased the other two into their bedrooms and shot them, too.

Besides Father Hallford, the other two of the victims were treated and released from a hospital. The identities of the victims and the nature of their wounds were not disclosed.

The TPSO also did not explain Williams’ relationship to Hallford or the role she is accused of playing in the shooting and escape from the scene, but said both suspects were captured shortly after a K-9 team began searching for the pair in the woods.

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