Crime
17-Year-Old Wyatt Sanders Arrested in Connection with Fatal Shooting of 16-Year-Old Miranda Clements in Vivian
Caddo Parish authorities are continuing their investigation into a fatal shooting that claimed the life of a 16-year-old girl in Vivian, Louisiana, on the evening of Sunday, April 20.
According to officials, officers with the Vivian Police Department responded to reports of a shooting just before 8:30 p.m. at a residence in the 33 block of Pardue Street.
Upon arrival, officers located 16-year-old Miranda Clements lying on the floor inside the home with a gunshot wound to her upper body.
Emergency personnel with Caddo Fire District 8 responded and pronounced the teenager deceased at the scene.
Following the initial response, Vivian police contacted the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office for assistance.
Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office launched a joint investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Authorities initially stated they were working to establish whether foul play was involved.
As part of the investigation, 17-year-old Wyatt Layne Sanders was taken into custody in connection with the incident.
He was booked into the Caddo Parish Correctional Center at 3:07 a.m. on Monday, April 21. According to jail records, Sanders is facing two counts of illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile and one count of negligent homicide.
He remains in custody as of the latest report.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
Further details, including the events leading up to the shooting, have not yet been released.
Authorities in Abbeville are actively investigating a shooting incident that left one man dead and a second victim hospitalized following a series of emergency calls on Friday, April 18.
According to the Abbeville Police Department, the initial call came in shortly after gunfire was reported in the 700 block of South Guegnon Street.
Moments later, police received a second report indicating that a vehicle had crashed into a utility pole in the parking lot of Landry’s Laundromat on Charity Street.
A third call was then placed advising that another shooting victim had been located on Prairie Avenue.
Investigators determined that the incident began when a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe, traveling northbound on Guegnon Street, came under fire from an unknown assailant or assailants who discharged multiple .223 caliber rounds at the vehicle.
Tavian Young, 20, of Abbeville, who was inside the vehicle, was struck by a bullet on the right side of his torso, just beneath the armpit.
A second passenger, an unidentified female, sustained a gunshot wound to the back of her head.
Despite being under fire, the driver of the Tahoe continued north on Guegnon Street, then turned east onto Charity Street before losing control and crashing into a utility pole in the southeast corner of Landry’s Laundromat parking lot.
When first responders arrived at the crash scene, they discovered the vehicle resting against the utility pole with Tavian Young unresponsive inside.
Officers administered CPR, but despite life-saving efforts, Young was pronounced dead at the scene.
Responding units were then directed to Prairie Avenue, where the female victim was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
She was transported to a nearby hospital, where she remains in stable condition, authorities confirmed.
A third passenger, a three-year-old child, was also in the vehicle at the time of the shooting. The child was not injured and was later released to a family member.
The Abbeville Police Department, in conjunction with other agencies, is continuing its investigation into the shooting.
No arrests have been made at this time, and authorities have not yet released details about potential suspects or a possible motive.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the Abbeville Police Department.