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'My child didn't have a fair chance at life:' Four teens killed over the last five days

1 hour 56 minutes 24 seconds ago Monday, January 12 2026 Jan 12, 2026 January 12, 2026 9:41 PM January 12, 2026 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - The family of 19-year-old Jerrod Jermaine Dorsey thought they would soon be gathering for a wedding, not a funeral. He had recently proposed to his girlfriend.

"It's going to be hard for me because I can't see a life without him," his fiancée Roberny Vargas said.

His mother Reba Dorsey said Jerrod went to a house party on Maverick Avenue in the early hours of Sunday when he was struck by gunfire.

"[It] wasn't intended for him, this I can tell you for sure. I know this could never have been intended for my child, it's not the lifestyle he lived," Reba Dorsey said.

Jerrod Dorsey's death is the latest in a recent string of violence through the Baton Rouge area. That same day, a separate shooting on Riverdale Avenue East left one injured. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office said no arrests have been made in either case.

These were among a total of 12 shootings from Thursday through Sunday, most resulting in no arrests. Seven people recovering from injuries, six additional victims are dead. A majority of those killed are teenagers, including Jerrod Dorsey, 18-year-old Kassidy Jackson, 16-year-old Charleston Wright and 17-year-old E'myrie Walker.

"It's crazy, that's insane. It's the same age range. Remorse for life has just gone out the window. They know these people have families, they have mothers, have siblings, they have people who love them unconditionally, and they take it," Reba Dorsey said.

The family of 18-year-old Kassidy Jackson is also planning her funeral. As previously reported, police say she was killed by her ex-girlfriend Paulasia Banks. Banks did turn herself in, a woman calling identifying herself as Banks' legal counsel calling the incident "an accidental shooting."

Jackson's family has created a GoFundMe for funeral expenses.

Reba Dorsey said the teens' lives were taken too young.

"This is a lot, to know my child didn't have a fair chance at life," Reba Dorsey said.

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