Michael Wayne Thomas, 51, was killed just after midnight on April 22, 2024, after being caught in the crossfire of a gunfight outside a Kangaroo Express convenience store on Scotland Avenue in Baton Rouge. Police say Thomas was an innocent bystander who tried to take cover behind a parked vehicle when shots were fired; as one of the shooters fled, that person reportedly turned the weapon on Thomas and shot him in the back. He was taken to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital but did not survive.

The same exchange of gunfire sent a stray bullet through the wall of a nearby apartment on Bradfield Avenue, striking a 51-year-old woman as she slept with her twin children; the children were unharmed and the woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators say the incident began when an unidentified person shot at a Mercedes-Benz, and a passenger in the car, identified as 27-year-old Alvin Mott Jr., allegedly got out and returned fire. Arrest documents state Mott may have mistaken Thomas for someone involved and intentionally shot him before firing indiscriminately.

U.S. Marshals located Mott at a Baker residence and, after a four-hour standoff on April 23, took him into custody. The community remembers Thomas as a beloved neighbor and the youngest of six siblings, a father and the neighborhood comedian known as Captain. If anyone knew Michael Wayne Thomas or has information about the shooting, please come forward.