Key Takeaways
- An argument at a Popeye’s escalated into a shooting when a group followed Xavion Broussard home and opened fire.
- Broussard returned fire, wounding the driver and a passenger in the pursuing vehicle.
- No charges have been filed yet, and the investigation remains ongoing.
- In Louisiana, no permit is required for carrying a firearm due to constitutional carry laws.
- Driving home while being followed can endanger loved ones; it’s safer to go to a police station or a public place.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
ABBEVILLE, LA — An argument at a fast food restaurant ended in gunfire after a carload of people followed one of the customers home and opened fire, leaving two of them shot by the man they had chased, Abbeville Police say.
As reported by KLFY, officers first responded around 4:28 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, to a Popeye’s on Veterans Memorial Drive for a report of customers fighting. They found Xavion Broussard and a woman, Anayla Williams, in a verbal argument. The manager asked that everyone be removed, and both parties left separately. No one was arrested at the restaurant.
About an hour later, around 5:30 p.m., police were called to the 600 block of Hawthorne Street for a shooting. Investigators say video footage showed Broussard’s vehicle being followed to Hawthorne, where his grandmother lives.
According to police, occupants of a silver Chevrolet Malibu got out of the car and opened fire on Broussard. He returned fire, striking the driver and a rear-seat passenger. The Malibu fled and was later found on the 1500 block of Graceland, where Acadian Ambulance transported the two wounded to a hospital.
No one has been charged in the shooting itself as of this writing, and police say the investigation is ongoing.
It is not clear whether anyone involved held a concealed carry permit. In Louisiana, that question carries little weight. Since July 4, 2024, the state has been a constitutional carry state. Any adult who can legally possess a firearm may carry one, concealed or open, with no permit required. The absence of a permit tells us nothing about whether a person was carrying lawfully.
The detail that stays with me is the pursuit. Police say the Malibu followed Broussard from the restaurant to a private home. If you ever realize you are being followed, driving to where you live, or where your family lives, is one of the worst choices you can make. You bring the threat to the people you love and onto ground the other side has now seen.
More from USA Carry:
Better options exist. Drive to a police station, a fire station, or a busy, well-lit public place. Call 911 and stay on the line so officers know your location and your direction of travel. Do not pull into the driveway and assume the problem will pass. A car that has tailed you for blocks is not lost.
I carry because I accept responsibility for my own protection, and part of that responsibility is not painting a target on my own front door. A firearm is the last resort, not a substitute for distance, awareness, and a phone call that puts the law on your side before anything happens.
The account police have released so far describes people who chased a man down and got out shooting first. If that holds up, it is the textbook setup for a lawful defensive response. The investigation is open and no official determination has been made, so I will let the evidence and the prosecutors do their work before calling it anything more than what police have said it is.
