On the late morning of September 19, 2025, a running, unoccupied car behind the Triangle Market on Scenic Highway in Baton Rouge led officers to a bushy area behind the business where 25-year-old James Lee Critney was found dead of a gunshot wound. Investigators say a physical altercation occurred shortly before the shooting.

Critney’s family described him as not being involved in trouble and said they were baffled about why he was at that location, which is far from his Gardere-area home. Detectives identified a person of interest after surveillance allegedly captured a verbal dispute in which that person produced a handgun and a single shot was later heard; the person of interest reportedly admitted to shooting Critney and fled the scene.

Does anyone have information about Critney’s movements that morning or the people he was with?