Jefferson Gun Outlet Massacre Crushes Three Families While JPSO Continues to Sort Evidence Crime / Police

One of them was a mother and grandmother picking up a gun she had ordered for protection.

Another was a firearms lover who worked one of his two jobs. The third was there for target practice.

All of them were killed Saturday afternoon at the Jefferson Gun Outlet in Metairie when an argument over a suspected violation of a security rule escalated into a shootout that sent Veronica Billiot, Herbert “Noah” Fischbach and Joshua Williams to the morgue and two others. sent to the house. hospital with injuries, officials and loved ones said Sunday.

Details of those killed during the bloodshed at the gun shop and indoor shooting range at 6719 Airline Drive came to light a day later when investigators from Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office combed investigative video, ballistic evidence and witness statements to repair what happened to amid the massacre.

Investigators are investigating the key exchange. Williams, 27, brought a gun with an extended magazine into the store and quarreled with staff when they told him to unload his weapon to comply with a rule prohibiting patrons from carrying a loaded to have a gun if they are not in a hockey on the target track. enforcement resources to The Times-Picayune | said Attorney in New Orleans.

Detectives suspect things have increased so drastically that Williams, who according to family members went there to use the series, fired a warning into the ceiling.

According to the sources, investigators believe that Williams then shot dead Fischbach (47), the store clerk. Williams and 59-year-old Billiot, who according to her family were there to fetch a gun she had ordered ahead of time, were then fatally wounded while gunmen and customers began firing in the store.

Williams died after running out into the parking lot, which investigators would later see was littered with used gun cartridges. Billiot died inside the entrance of the store, the glass doors of which were smashed. Two other people were injured during the shooting and taken to hospital, although there were no life-threatening injuries.

Jeffry Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich announced the names of Williams, Fischbach and Billiot on Sunday morning. But little new information was available about who in the store Williams and Billiot fatally shot, with investigators still trying to determine exactly which of the myriad weapons were fired at the scene and who they possibly hit.

Either way, three families spent Sunday on the devastation caused by a massacre that made the national news within hours.

Linda Billiot said all indications were that her older sister Veronica “had no idea what was going on” when the argument over Williams began.

“She was completely innocent,” Linda Billiot said in a telephone interview Sunday.

While her voice sometimes breaks, Linda Billiot remembers how Veronica Billiot acted to raise her two younger sisters because their mother was not in the picture while growing up in Algiers Point.

She earned her living as the military manager of home property at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in Belle Chasse, Linda Billiot said. In addition to her sisters, Veronica Billiot also raised three children and had six grandchildren.

Linda Billiot said Veronica Billiot’s son was horrified to hear of the five-shot at Jefferson Gun Outlet, knowing his mother had gone there to pick up a weapon she had ordered for self-defense when the gunman broke out. Officials soon confirmed that his mother was among the dead, Linda Billiot said.

“It’s shocking – I’m not processing it,” Linda Billiot said. “I haven’t slept since I heard what happened.”

The president of the New Orleans Navy Housing and Patrician Management – Billiot’s employer – said she ” led a full and successful life, at home and at work ” and ‘was dedicated to her employees”.

“She served our company and military families for 15 years at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Belle Chasse,” Patrician Management President Alex Lewis said in an email. “She was a tireless worker with a passion for excellence, along with deep respect for our military families.”

Fischbach’s widow remembers her husband as a devoted partner and father with ambitions to climb the career ladder of the film industry. He works as a specialist for special effects and an armor, which oversees the correct and safe use of all weapons on a film set.

Because of the coronavirus restrictions on the film industry, Fischbach spent more time working at Jefferson Gun Outlet, said Nancy Fischbach, his 14-year-old wife.

Yet he also made time to be a dedicated man, like when he planned a day full of surprises like wine, pastries and other goodies for their recent anniversary.

“He was amazing,” Fischbach said of her husband, with whom she raised a 13-year-old son, Ethan. Words cannot describe the person he was. He was so genuine, so genuine, so true. He was my soulmate. ”

Williams’ family, in turn, pushed back against statements that he was to blame for the violence at Jefferson Gun Outlet.

He went shopping with his brother and some children, a Williams family member said Saturday. The family member, who did not want to be named, doubts whether Williams would have acted for a firearms fight at a location he knew was visited by police and former military personnel.

Family members noted that Williams went to other rifle ranges in the region and never had a problem. Also, a woman on social media who said she was Williams’ mother posted a message on social media in which he said that he did not go into the shooting incident and that he was shot by employees of the company.

“My son … was KILLED,” the woman wrote, identifying her as Trudy Edwards.

A knock on the front door of Williams’ home address went unanswered Sunday.

Michael Mayer, head of Jefferson Gun Outlet, jumped to the defense of Fischbach and his other employees on Sunday.

Mayer said he had to limit his comments because the Sheriff’s Office and other officials in Jefferson Parish are still investigating, but he issued a statement accusing him of assaulting employees of his store after they asked him to drop his gun. to download.

“Our store was attacked by Joshua Williams,” Mayer’s statement said in part. A customer as well as one employee were killed in the (subsequent) shootout. Joshua Williams, the gunman, was also killed. ”