Demarcus Variste, 27, was fatally shot outside the Lil Blue House after-hours club in the 2600 block of Osage Street near Plank Road in Baton Rouge in the early morning of Saturday, February 28, 2026. Emergency crews arrived around 6 a.m. and found Variste with multiple gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Baton Rouge Police say the shooting may have followed a fight inside the establishment. The suspect or suspects fled before officers arrived; in the days after the killing no arrests or suspect identifications had been announced. Family members, including his aunt Rhonda Variste and cousin Tye Variste, criticized the safety of after-hours venues and said they worry about alcohol and guns at places they view as lacking adequate security. The Lil Blue House is reportedly run by the same promoter tied to a separate fatal shooting at another after-hours club in 2025.

Anyone who was at the Lil Blue House that night or who has information about the fight or the people who left the scene is asked to come forward.