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Deputies arrest four in fatal shooting of 8-year-old along San Juan Drive
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BATON ROUGE — Less than 24 hours after the fatal shooting of an 8-year-old boy, deputies arrested four people in connection with the child's death. Neighbors in the area remain shaken, saying they never expected this kind of violence in their own front yards.
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office said 8-year-old Davian Nicholas was shot when a group of people exchanged gunfire during an argument along San Juan Drive around 6:20 p.m. on Sunday. The boy was taken to a hospital, where he died.
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Just hours before the shooting on Sunday evening, Nicholas played basketball with the neighborhood children. 10-year-old Kayden Hodges said he and his brothers played a round of hoops with Nicholas and his brother that afternoon.
"I got a little sad because they just came over here and shot for no reason," Hodges said.
Hodges told WBRZ he went inside with his siblings to get water and cool off when they heard the gunfire.
"I hear like four or five shots. That's when I came back outside, and we saw his mother in the grass. We were thinking his mother had gotten shot," Hodges' brother, Kyle Pryor, said.
Neighbors tell WBRZ Nicholas was shot just yards away from his home.
Jeremiah Tanan Scott, 21, Jeremiah Walter, 25, and Everett Chambers, 21, were arrested within hours of the shooting and booked for first-degree murder. Hunter Calligan was also arrested for principal to first-degree murder.
Arrest documents say there was an "ongoing 'beef'" between Calligan and Walter that led up to the gunfight. The documents also mentioned that arguments between the two groups escalated throughout the day.
Deputies learned that Calligan and Scott were armed and standing outside a home when Chambers and Walter drove by and opened fire.
Investigators believe that during the incident, Scott fired the shot that struck Nicholas.
Scott was also indicted for an illegal carrying of weapons charge connected to an incident on April 5, 2023. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest in July 2023.
The shooting left Fran Netter, a mother in the neighborhood, shaken.
"When I received the news the baby had died, it brought tears to my eyes. I literally sat there and cried," Netter said.
Netter fears the impact this kind of violence has on her neighborhood and the children who live there.
"Yesterday was a day that no one expected," Netter said. "They were just out here innocently having fun and playing basketball."
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said in a statement, "This is a heartbreaking and senseless tragedy. A group of young men chose to settle an argument with gunfire in a neighborhood where families live and children should be safe. Because of that reckless and violent decision, an innocent 8-year-old child, Davian Nicholas, lost his life."
The investigation remains ongoing.
District 5 EBR Metro Councilman Darryl Hurst also released a statement, saying his office would assist the family with resources and support, and calling upon the city-parish officials and law enforcement to work on a plan to reduce crime in the region.
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