An 18-year-old named Jaylan JaBez Ben was found shot and critically wounded in a rural area south of Abbeville, Louisiana, after being thrown from a moving vehicle near Queens Ranch Road. Deputies arrived to find him alive with multiple gunshot wounds; he was transported to a local hospital but died of his injuries. The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office opened the case as a homicide.

Investigators quickly located a vehicle they believe was used in the crime at Ninth Street and South State Street. By that evening a juvenile was arrested and charged with second-degree murder; authorities say the minor shot Jaylan Ben and pushed his body from the car. The investigation remains active.

If anyone has information about Jaylan Ben, the vehicle, or events near Queens Ranch Road that morning, please come forward.