A domestic dispute in a Baton Rouge apartment on Nicholson Drive escalated into deadly violence in the early morning hours of June 23, 2021. James Jerrell McCants, 27, was fatally shot shortly before 4 a.m. after an ongoing conflict with a roommate turned violent. McCants’s girlfriend was also shot and taken to a local hospital with injuries.

Authorities say the confrontation began when an intoxicated McCants returned home and banged on his roommate’s bedroom door while cursing at the roommate, 21-year-old Channin Sells. Arrest documents allege Sells opened fire, striking both McCants and his girlfriend. Law enforcement identified Sells as the suspected shooter and booked him into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder.

The family of James McCants is left to grieve after a dispute turned fatal. If anyone has information about what led up to the shooting or witnessed the incident, please share it with investigators.