By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A 23-year-old man was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his backside, following a shooting in LaPlace Sunday night, according to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The victim, who is from LaPlace, told deputies he was standing on Dove Street around 10:30 p.m. when he was shot by a passenger in a vehicle that drove past him, said Capt. Dane Clement, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

The victim said he was standing on the street when he noticed a vehicle occupied by three men pass by him several times.

The car returned again and stopped in front of the victim, who spoke with the passenger in the front seat of the vehicle, Clement said.

“After briefly speaking with the victim, the front seat passenger produced a handgun and shot the victim, striking him in the buttocks,” Clement said. “The victim fled a short distance on Kildeer Street and fell to the ground.”

Deputies responded to the 600 block of Kildeer Street, where they were told that the victim had been driven to River Parishes Hospital for treatment. Clement said the man was later transferred to University Hospital in New Orleans, where his condition is unknown. No one else was injured in the shooting.

Clement said the occupants of the car drove east on Dove Street, then turned left on Robin Street toward Airline Highway. Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call detectives at 985-359-8769 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.