By ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — St. John Parish Sheriff’s detectives have released more information regarding their investigation into the shooting death of a LaPlace man on July 4, said a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

Keith Craig, 25, was gunned down outside his home on Tiffany Drive around 11:47 p.m. Authorities say Craig was standing in his front yard talking with two other people when shots rang out from an unknown direction. Craig suffered gunshot wounds to the torso and buttocks.

Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the St. John Sheriff’s Office, said the two other men, who were not injured in the shooting, helped Craig back inside his home until authorities arrived. Clement said Craig was transported to University Hospital in New Orleans, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries the following morning. Craig’s death was the third homicide in St. John Parish this year.

Clement said investigators are now saying that the shooter fled the scene heading north on Tiffany Drive in a red or burgundy Ford Expedition. Clement said four people were in the getaway vehicle at the time of the shooting.

Authorities are also saying that the shooting could be related to a fight Craig was involved in at a Kenner nightclub two weeks before the shooting took place. Clement said Det. Walter Stevens has not directly related the two events, but he is not ruling out the possibility. Stevens does believe that the shooter or shooters reside in the Kenner area.

Clement said detectives have exhausted all leads and are now asking the public for help. Anyone who may have information regarding the shooting should call Det. Stevens at 985-652-9513, ext. 159, or contact CrimeStoppers at 504-822-1111. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward if information leads to an arrest in the case.