Police say a Southeast Texas man has been charged in the fatal shooting of his four roommates during an argument.
Beaumont police say 22-year-old Lively James Stratton of Beaumont was being held on Sept. 30 on four murder counts.
Officer Carol Riley says Sunday’s attack involved an ongoing disturbance. Riley had no immediate details on the dispute at the residence with individually rented rooms, plus a shared living area and bathroom.
Shortly after noon on Sunday, an officer on patrol responded to reports of gunfire. Police found 23-year-old Alvin Lee Bellard and 23-year-old Shannon Sutton dead at the scene.
Police say 39-year-old Bobby Wyatt and 33-year-old Elijah Rideau died at a hospital. Riley says one victim identified Stratton before dying.
Online records Monday didn’t immediately list an attorney representing Stratton, who was arrested nearby.
US Murders Drop as Crime Abates
Not since 1999 has the United States seen the number of murders drop so precipitously as in 2018, when 1,080 fewer people died of homicide or non-negligent manslaughter than the year before, according to national crime statistics released by the FBI on Sept. 30.The murder rate dropped to 5 per 100,000 residents, a decline of 6.8 percent from 2017.
Overall, the violent crime rate dropped by 3.9 percent, most notably the robbery rate, which slid by 12.6 percent in 2018. The property crime rate, meanwhile, decreased by 6.9 percent. The burglary rate, in particular, declined by 12.5 percent.
Of the seven crimes captured in the data—homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, and car theft—only rape was up in 2018, by 2.1 percent.
The decline in crimes accelerated from 2017, when the violent crime rate dropped by about 1 percent and the rate of property crime fell by 3.6 percent.