Sixteen-year-old Anthony Tony Christopher Ebarb, a freshman at North Desoto High School who enjoyed football, fishing and hunting, was fatally wounded on January 2, 2022, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Earlier that day his father, 45-year-old Jeffrey Ebarb Sr., and a 15-year-old brother had visited a family friend where the father purchased a rifle. The firearm was placed in the backseat of the family vehicle, where the two brothers were seated.

While the family waited in a Burger King drive-through line, the rifle accidentally discharged when handled by the 15-year-old, striking Anthony. He was taken to Christus Highland Medical Center and pronounced dead. Both Jeffrey Ebarb Sr. and the 15-year-old were taken into custody and charged with negligent homicide; the father also faced multiple hunting-related violations including trespassing, illegally taking a deer or bear, and hunting or discharging a firearm from a moving vehicle.

Jeffrey Ebarb Sr. made his first court appearance on January 4, 2022, requested a court-appointed attorney, and was represented by the Caddo Parish Indigent Defenders Office; a preliminary examination was scheduled for the following month. Does anyone have information about the circumstances that led to the rifle being handled in the backseat while the vehicle was in the drive-through?