By Chelsea Edwards, Carolina Sanchez and Natalie Hee
Published December 12, 2021 9:17PMU
BAYTOWN, Texas — One person died, and 13 others were injured when a gunman opened fire at an outdoor vigil in Baytown on Sunday evening, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said.
The vigil was held in the parking lot by Yvonne’s Famous Kitchen food truck in the 1400 block of North Market Loop near Thompson Rd.
Authorities say the shooting happened around 6:40 p.m. as the crowd was gathered for a balloon release in honor of recent murder victim Jamal Narcisse.
Witnesses say the owner of the food truck, Yvonne, is also the mother of Narcisse, 29, who was killed December 3 in Baytown. Friends of Yvonne say she was one of the people shot and hospitalized Sunday night.
“It was just a bunch of gunshots and everybody tried to get out of the way,” said Dezmahn Cormier.
Cormier was one of roughly 50 people gathered at Jamal’s vigil.
“We was together every day, every day. And when it happened, I was with him. I ended up getting shot too when he got shot,” Cormier said.
During the December 3 shooting, Cormier was shot in the leg and left with a limp.
Less than 10 days later, the violence followed him to Jamal’s vigil.
“Right as they were releasing the balloons up in the air was when the vehicle came. And almost at that exact time is when they opened fire into a crowd,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. …
Following the shooting, a “disturbance” occurred at the Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital’s Emergency Room, where some shooting victims were being treated.
According to Baytown PD, a large group gathered there around 7 p.m. after victims were transported to the hospital.
“Baytown Police Officers and Detectives, Deputies from Harris County PCT 3 and Harris County PCT 8 along with Troopers from Texas DPS assisted the Sheriff’s Deputies with ensuring that the scene was controlled and the area was safe,” the department said in a statement.
Sheriff Gonzalez thanked the other law enforcement agencies that stepped in to help in the incident.
“We’re also told that at the nearby clinic where they went to that a disturbance broke out there, so we needed some assistance from Baytown PD and the Precinct 3 deputy constables,” the sheriff said. “We want to thank them as well for stepping up and assisting us with everything we have going on right now.”
It’s unclear if anyone was hurt in the chaos at the hospital.
Prior to the shooting on Sunday evening, dozens of people were gathered for a block party.
The event was a fundraiser for funeral expenses for Narcisse, who was also known as “Lil Daddy.”
A bounce house was at the event for kids who were present to enjoy. It is unknown at this time if any of the victims were children.
There was also a planned balloon release, which is when the shooting is said to have occurred.
It’s unclear if Sunday’s shooting was related to the death of Narcisse.
Update to last night’s shooting on N. Market Loop: a total of fourteen individuals were shot/injured after a suspect(s) opened fire at an outdoor vigil for a recent murder victim. One of those individuals, Disha Allen (mid 20s), was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The other pic.twitter.com/uZIWdUNRvz
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) December 13, 2021
According to Baytown Police, officers responded to a shooting in the 200 block of W. Francis on Dec. 3 around 4:42 p.m.
When they arrived at the scene, officers found a 29-year-old male dead in the street from a gunshot wound and a 24-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the leg. The 24-year-old male was transported to Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital in stable condition.
Investigators later identified the 29-year-old victim as Narcisse, and Dezmahn Cormier tells FOX 26 he’s the one shot in the leg.
Through the course of the investigation, officers learned that Narcisse and his 21-year-old girlfriend got into a physical altercation. The woman’s brother, Daviyeon Cooper, 21, witnessed the altercation and shot Narcisse.
Daviyeon Cooper, 21, is charged with Capital Murder in the December 3, 2021 death of Jamal Narcisse. His bond was set at $100,000.
After the shooting, Cooper drove away from the scene, but was soon located by Baytown Police officers. Cooper was taken into custody without incident.