By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A 19-year-old Mt. Airy man was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries Thursday evening after a friendly game of horseshoes turned violent and gunfire erupted, according to a release from the St. John Sheriff’s Office.

The victim, whose name was not released, told authorities he and another man were playing horseshoes in the 200 block of Marigold Street around 4:26 p.m. when they began to argue over a $10 bet, said Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office.

According to the release, following the verbal altercation both men left the area and went their separate ways. A short while later, the victim answered a knock at his door and found the other man standing in his yard near the street with a handgun. Clement said the suspect fired two shots at the victim, striking the man once in the thigh.

The release said a neighborhood friend brought the injured man to St. James Parish Hospital for treatment. He was later transferred to University Hospital in New Orleans where he was treated further and released.

Clement said detectives have a suspect but are withholding his name until the victim makes a photographic identification. He said the suspect is a 21-year-old male, and his is current address is unknown.