Seven months after deadly shooting, three arrests have been made but not for the death
BATON ROUGE - On Thursday, police arrested a third person connected to a shooting at The Big Blue House, an after-hours club, but now they want to track down the gun that killed 24-year-old Pranesha Wagner.
Seven months ago, Prenesha Wagner was caught in crossfire, shot and killed outside of a club on Choctaw Drive in June.
Thursday's arrest of 24-year-old Derrick Scott brought police one step closer to answering who shot Prenesha Wagner. Scott was charged with attempted first-degree murder.
Police say Scott was firing his weapon, and an officer on the scene the night of the shooting saw a flash coming from Scott's gun.
After spending that summer day with family and friends, police say in the early hours of June 22nd, Wagner parked at the lot next to the Big Blue House, an after-hours club.
A fight started between two groups, and then, according to bystander video, gunshots erupted.
Seven months later, police and Wagner's family still don't have all the answers.
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"We believe she was an innocent bystander," L'Jean McKneely with the Baton Rouge Police Department said. "We do not know at this particular time who fired that fatal shot."
There were many witnesses. That night, crowds of people partied at the after-hours club. After the shooting event, organizers say they always have police and security, but Baton Rouge Police dispute that, saying no officers were hired to specifically watch the club.
"We did not have officers who were working detail at that particular location," McKneely said. "Due to officers knowing that there was an event happening there, officers were doing proactive patrol in that area."
Flyers advertising events at clubs like this, in some cases, allow patrons to bring in alcohol even if the club doesn't have an alcohol permit.
"These sometimes are just vacant buildings, and we've seen this in the past few months, that people are just going in, possibly even in places without electricity," Scott Wilfong, a member of the Alcohol Beverage Control Board, said.
That can have deadly consequences. In February, a hit-and-run driver killed La'Derica Stewart as she was leaving another after-hours club.
When asked why police can't shut down clubs and events like these, a spokesperson said that would require local government ordinances.
"That's a process and procedure that must come from other individuals, other than Baton Rouge Police," McKneely said.
Officials with the Baton Rouge Metro Council have said in the past that after-hours clubs are not supposed to allow patrons to bring their own alcohol, as only facilities with alcohol licenses may.
In Wagner's case, police expect to make even more arrests.