In the early morning hours of July 4, 2021, neighbors on North 11th Street in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, heard noises they initially thought were fireworks. Later that morning a family member found 69-year-old Harry Hughes dead in his bed. The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office says Hughes was fatally wounded in an apparent drive-by shooting and appears to have been killed while he was sleeping.

The case is being investigated as a homicide and the perpetrators remain at large. Authorities have not released a suspect description or a motive. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. If anyone has information about what happened that pre-dawn Fourth of July morning, please contact the Sheriff’s Office.