On April 14, 2014, 38-year-old Racquel Gillard was shot multiple times and killed in the 2300 block of Josephine Street in New Orleans’ Central City neighborhood. Witnesses said a 17-year-old, Johntrell Washington, confronted Gillard believing she had taken something from him, shot her twice, and then fired several more rounds after she collapsed.

The New Orleans Police Department named Washington as the primary suspect, described him as armed and dangerous, and later located and arrested him on May 8, 2014, in the 2300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. He was booked on one count of second-degree murder and taken to the Homicide Division for questioning. Washington had previously been arrested in connection with the killing of an eighth-grader, Ricky Summers, but that earlier case was not prosecuted by the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office due to insufficient evidence.

Are there any witnesses or residents who remember the events on Josephine Street or who might have information about what led to the confrontation?