Late on August 12, 2026, 48-year-old Billy Smith Jr. was found unresponsive from multiple gunshot wounds in the 3400 block of Wayne Drive in Baton Rouge and was pronounced dead at the scene. Baton Rouge Police Department officers classified the death as a homicide and the Homicide Division opened an investigation.

Initial public updates released very little detail: there has been no announced motive, no person of interest named, and no arrests. Investigators canvassed the neighborhood for evidence and witnesses and asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers. The circumstances leading up to the shooting remain unclear.

If anyone who lived in or near Wayne Drive on August 12 has information or saw something that night, please consider contacting Baton Rouge Crime Stoppers with tips.