Neighbors reported more than a dozen people had gathered on their street and were filming a music video Wednesday evening, but once that project devolved into a homicide scene, the group suddenly dispersed in the moments before police arrived.
That left detectives with no witnesses to interview, Baton Rouge police spokesman Sgt. L'Jean McKneely Jr. said the following afternoon. Officials have released few details about the shooting, which left two people dead.
The victims were identified as D'Andre Mills, 25, and Landon Johnson, 31. Both were transported to the hospital with gunshot injuries but later died.
McKneely said detectives are working to gather more evidence but their investigation is struggling from the start.
"The sad thing is nobody stayed on the scene," he said. "Zero witnesses."
Police said Wednesday evening that the group had been shooting a rap video on Dalton Street when the shooting occurred. McKneely didn't answer questions Thursday about whether detectives are investigating ongoing Baton Rouge rap feuds as a potential motive. He also couldn't say whether those shooting the video were affiliated with a specific local rap group.
Two main groups have been accused of causing massive amounts of bloodshed in recent years, trading acts of gun violence in escalating attempts at retaliation. Law enforcement cracked down on the violence last summer with several arrests following a deadly shootout in Miami involving at least one Baton Rouge rapper.
Music insiders have long speculated about the widespread impacts of an ongoing feud between two Baton Rouge rappers and their associates.
It's unclear whether the two men killed Wednesday were involved with making the music video or affiliated with any specific group.
Mills comes from a family that had already been devastated by Baton Rouge gun violence when his mother was shot and killed in 2018. That case remains unsolved.
Alfreda Mills, 40, was found dead behind the wheel of her car in the 1300 block of South Boulevard in January 2018. Her boyfriend — who was then home from work while recovering from being shot in the arm — told The Advocate that she was driving home from the Belle of Baton Rouge casino when the shooting occurred.
Attempts to reach the Mills family Thursday were unsuccessful. Johnson's family declined to comment when reached by phone.
Two people were shot and killed this weekend just outside downtown Baton Rouge, one overnight Friday and another overnight Saturday, leaving p…