In 2021, the Louisiana neighborhood of Bogalusa was terrorized by a Black man who rode around shooting aimlessly at children and families. Turns out he sent out a warning ahead of his shooting spree.
Angie resident Andrew Pernell was accused of shot Bogalusa High School senior Aaron Brown as he walked home from school August 23, 2021, per the Bogalusa Police Department. The following month, prosecutors say Pernell drove down Main Street and fired 18 shots into a home with children inside. Luckily, no one was injured. However, a few days later, Pernell shot a 13-year-old boy as he got off the school bus. He survived the shooting but was airlifted for treatment of the injuries he sustained, per WGNO.
That afternoon, Pernell wrecked his car resulting in the police taking him into custody. Upon the investigation, police said they discovered evidence to suggest the shooting spree may have been premeditated.
Read more from WDSU:
Pernell’s gun and phone were confiscated by police, which linked him to the shootings. Text messages from the phone showed Pernell used a man named Matthew Kennedy to purchase the weapons he used in the crimes. A text message to Kennedy from Pernell read, “I kill ppl.”
As detectives investigated Brown’s murder, they found messages between Pernell and a man named Jayden Brister, who was also linked to the murder. Brister and Pernell planned the shooting for when students walked home from school on the day of Brown’s murder.
Texts show Pernell said he “had an AR and needed a body.” The messages also revealed Pernell’s plan to dump the AR after the shooting.
Trial was nothing short of disturbing. District Attorney Colin Sims said during the testimonies of young witnesses, Pernell made gun gestures at them from his seat.
It only took 27 minutes for the jury to come back with a guilty verdict on charges of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and assault by drive-by shooting.
Pernell laughed at the verdict, per WDSU. He faces life in prison as a sentence.