On the morning of December 24, 2023, at about 2:00 a.m., Marcus Williams was shot and killed while sitting in a vehicle stopped at a red light on LA-1 in Plaquemine, Louisiana. Williams and three others were in the car when a second vehicle pulled alongside and opened fire. Another passenger, Justin Young, was also killed; two passengers escaped unharmed.

Police say the shooting appears tied to a long-running feud that began with an armed robbery in 2018 and has produced repeated retaliatory shootings over the years. Plaquemine’s Chief of Police, Stephen Engolio, described the conflict as affecting families on both sides and said the Christmas Eve attack represented a devastating escalation.

By December 30, 2023, 22-year-old Markeithan Jamal McGinnis had been arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. A second suspect, Travis Pitcher, was taken into custody on January 5 and faced the same charges.

Did anyone in Plaquemine have information about the feud or the events leading up to that night?