Caldwell Parish man arrested for South Height shooting | KTVE

Caldwell Parish, Louisiana. (KTVE/KARD) – On May 26, 2024 at 4:48 p.m., the Caldwell Parish Sheriff’s Office received reports that a man had been shot. According to officers, they arrived at the scene in South Heights Columbia, Louisiana at around 4:52 p.m. and arrested Gary Owen Edmonston Jr. after three witnesses on the scene identified him as the suspected shooter.

Officers also recovered a 9mm handgun and spoke with the night shift supervisor, who stated that a verbal altercation occurred between a female and male victim. According to officers, the argument was over money that the female victim was demanding for assistance with the couple’s three children. The argument began outside the residence, and the parties went inside and continued to argue.

According to officers, the female victim told the male victim he had to leave, but he did not. Her oldest child, who is 15, also told the male victim to leave and attempted to physically push him out the door. The argument escalated and the female victim told officers the male victim allegedly called her several derogatory names, including cunt.

The female victim’s boyfriend, Edmonston, who also lived in the apartment, heard the male victim allegedly calling her a cunt and left the bedroom. According to officers, he was allegedly armed with a 9mm handgun and told the male victim to leave, but instead the male victim stormed down the hallway and allegedly punched him in the head.

The male victim was not carrying any weapons and Edmonstron allegedly shot the male victim in the abdomen to the right of the navel and then shot him again in the right forearm, grazing it. According to officials, EMS was dispatched to the scene and the male victim was taken to Citizens Med Center where he succumbed to his injuries.

Edmonston was taken to the Caldwell Parish Sheriff’s Office and allegedly admitted to intentionally shooting the victim. According to officials, Edmonston was taken to the Caldwell Parish Correctional Facility and charged with manslaughter.