Local Teen Needs Funds for Costly Dental Repairs After Violent Pipe Attack

A local teenager, Jessica Byrnes-Laird, has at least ten broken teeth and too many stitches to count after a routine trip to the gas station turned violent. Byrnes-Laird says she was attacked with a brass pipe while parked at the A & Y Quick Stop in Shreveport’s MLK neighborhood Sunday night.

Still wearing her bikini after a day spent swimming, Byrnes-Laird said a group of men approached her car while her boyfriend  was inside buying cigarettes. When he heard about their reported lewd comments, Byrnes-Laird’s boyfriend fought the men before getting behind the wheel to leave. That’s when they say someone–just off-camera–took a brass pipe, and threw it through the open passenger window, smashing Jessica in the face.

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While Jessica will never forget the night that she spent pacing in a convenience store parking lot with her hands covering a bleeding broken mouth, she says the support from her boyfriend, his family, and even strangers is encouraging.

“All the support that’s been shown towards me, I’m so extremely thankful,” Byrnes-Laird said.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to benefit Byrnes-Laird’s dental bills.

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