LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – There are mixed reactions coming out of a south Lafayette community after a teenager was found shot dead at an apartment complex.

 

Some have concerns, others say a situation like this could happen anywhere.

But they all agreed it’s a tragedy for someone to lose their life at such a young age.

 

Just before 10 p.m. Wednesday, Lafayette Police responded to Grand Pointe apartments where 18-year-old Christian Roper was found dead with a gunshot.

 

Some residents say they heard someone knocking on doors asking for help when the body was spotted in the parking lot.

 

Joseph Pupera lives a stone’s throw away from where the body was found.

He says this is the first time something like this has happened in his more than six years he’s lived in the adjacent neighborhood.

 

“I think we all have to be diligent and observant of our surroundings, but I still feel just as safe as I did before. It’s been a very quiet, great neighborhood”, Purpera said.

 

A quiet neighborhood is how most people in the area described the community.

 

When they learned of the shooting, they were shocked. 

One woman said her neighbors reacted on their Nextdoor social network. “Surprised. I think it made people nervous.” 

 

While the woman chose to be anonymous, she was sympathetic to the victim’s family and wants answers in the teenagers death.

 

“I want to know what happened I don’t think that’s something common”, she said.

 

This is the third shooting in Lafayette Parish in the past five days; the second homicide of 2019.