Deiondre Benjamin, 24, was shot and killed after an argument in the tailgate area outside the St. Martinville Senior High homecoming football game on Friday, October 25, 2024. The game against Erath was canceled that night; the shooting occurred just days before Benjamin’s 25th birthday. Reports say a long-standing feud between families underlay the confrontation.

City cameras tracked a vehicle from the scene toward Breaux Bridge and Interstate 10. Authorities followed the plate and coordinated with Beaumont, Texas, where police intercepted the car and arrested three people. Twenty-two-year-old Zackyric Gardner was identified as the suspected shooter and charged with second-degree murder. Thirty-year-old Jacques Brousard was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to second-degree murder for allegedly driving Gardner to Texas after the shooting.

A grand jury indicted Gardner on second-degree murder in May 2025. Benjamin’s family remember him as a devoted father to his young daughter and seek justice. If anyone has information about the events that night or knew Deiondre, please share what you know.