Brandon Montrell, a comedian and online performer known as “Boogie B,” was fatally shot Friday in New Orleans while shopping for his grandmother ahead of Christmas, and his family members are blasting the city’s Democrat leaders for the conditions that led to the seemingly unintentional shooting.
Police released images of two suspects Saturday, asking for help identifying them after a shooting outside a Rouses grocery store. Police said Montrell did not appear to be the intended target of the attack, according to local outlet Fox 8.
Sherilyn Price, Montrell’s mother, released a statement excoriating local politicians for his murder. “My son was not just the victim of a stray bullet,” Price said. “He’s the victim of decades of neglect that have left New Orleans’ youth with no hope for a future and with no real fear of consequences.
“It’s past time for leaders in our city and all over to do their jobs. It matters who the president is, who the governor is and who the mayor is. Leaders create opportunities – including the opportunity to live in peace without fear of random violence.”
Juan LaFonta, an attorney representing the family, similarly blamed local politicians for not addressing the root causes of crime: “People aren’t born criminals,” he wrote. “What leads to horrors like this isn’t greed, it isn’t drugs, and it isn’t violent tendencies. It’s the failure of our city’s leaders to provide proper and even minimal support for families and youth.”
Montrell grew up in New Orleans but was reportedly living in Los Angeles developing his comedy career. On social media, he had developed a modest following on Instagram and the Chinese spyware/psychological warfare app TikTok, posting videos such as his “Hood History” series explaining the significance of various local NOLA sites.
Local reports indicate Montrell was visiting his family for Christmas and was sitting in his car, shopping for groceries with his grandmother, when he was shot.
Oliver Thomas, a Democrat on New Orleans’ city council, posted a tribute to Montrell on Instagram, sharing one of the comic’s latest “Hood History” videos. “Another one of our own was taken senselessly,” Thomas wrote. “His devastating demise proves we continue to have work to do.”
New Orleans has seen a horrific surge in homicides this year. Just over a week before Montrell’s death, Breitbart’s AWR Hawkins reported that the city had seen 248 murders so far in 2022 under the watch of Democrat Mayor LaToya Cantrell — a major increase over 218 homicides in 2021, a level unseen in the city since 2005.