A dispute over a bicycle in Larose, Louisiana, ended with the death of 15-year-old Braxton Bourda on June 5, 2014. Deputies responded about 2:45 p.m. to a shooting in the 100 block of East 23rd Street and found Braxton by the roadside with a single gunshot wound to his face; he was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses said the shooting happened in the middle of the street and that several people dragged Braxton’s body to the side before fleeing on foot.

Investigators identified 19-year-old Neely Gardner as a suspect; Gardner surrendered at about 1:15 a.m. the next morning. He told detectives he had found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol on the ground and that the gun discharged as he tried to unload it, striking Braxton in the face. Gardner said he dropped the weapon, moved Braxton to the roadside, and fled; he was booked on negligent homicide and had an outstanding warrant from 2013 for failure to pay fines in a resisting-an-officer case.

Does anyone in the Larose or South Lafourche school community have information about the bicycle dispute or what happened that afternoon?