Donovan Hesiod Pugh, 21, was fatally shot during an evening home invasion at the Cadence Apartments on Scenic Highway in Baton Rouge on December 3, 2025. A Southern University sophomore studying Criminal Justice and a New Orleans resident, Pugh had recently reported a burglary at his apartment on Thanksgiving Day and had legally purchased a shotgun for protection. That evening intruders reportedly kicked in his door; witnesses and his mother say he armed himself and ordered them to leave. The assailants, who were also armed, opened fire. Emergency responders found Pugh with gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Baton Rouge Police Department described the case as a home invasion and armed robbery and used witness accounts and surveillance footage to identify a suspect. On December 17, 2025, U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force officers arrested 20-year-old Zion Buck in Clayton, Louisiana. Buck was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges including first-degree murder, home invasion, and armed robbery. Investigators say additional suspects remain at large and are seeking further information about the break-in and shooting.

Did anyone in the area see unusual activity at the Cadence Apartments that evening or recognize anyone leaving the building?