Four Soldiers Arrested After Suspected Gang-Related Louisiana Shooting

Four U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Louisiana’s Fort Polk have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a gang-related shooting.

Quazier Watterson and Tavon Williams, both 19, were arrested alongside 23-year-old Trevian Cherry and 24-year-old Joshua Galloway VI shortly after the shooting on Monday night, according to a joint news release that the DeRidder Police Department and the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office issued on Tuesday.

The four men were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit attempted armed robbery; aggravated assault with a firearm; illegal use of weapons or other dangerous instrumentalities; and aggravated criminal damage to property. {snip}

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Detectives suspect that the shooting could be related to “recent activity from the so-called gangs” due to a shooting at the same address on September 11. Two juvenile suspects were arrested in Leesville earlier on Monday on suspicion of taking part in the previous shooting.

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Although 93 individuals with ties to the Army were involved in gang-related activity during 2020, gang activity in the Army had declined since the year before {snip}

The decline may have occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing people to spend more time indoors. Army Times found that 245 gang-related incidents were reported among those with Army ties in 2019.

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