By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

EDGARD – A 5-year-old girl and her 44-year-old grandmother were shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting in Edgard Sunday night, according to a release from the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Capt. Dane Clement, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said the girl and her grandmother were not the intended targets in the shooting and were likely only bystanders. He said the intended targets were a 23-year-old man, his girlfriend and her two children, who were all sitting in a red Ford Crown Victoria parked nearby. The vehicle was struck by one bullet, but none of the occupants were injured.

According to the sheriff’s office, the shooting occurred in the 100 block of East Sixth Street just before 9 p.m. Sunday. When deputies arrived they found the 44-year-old woman with a wound to her thigh and the 5-year-old with a wound to her leg.

Clement said both victims were taken to University Hospital in New Orleans, where they were treated and released.

Clement said the investigation is ongoing and detectives are following leads, but no motive has been established. Anyone with information regarding the shooting should call St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff detectives at 985-359-8769.