22-Year-Old Allegedly Kills 4 Roommates Over an Escalation

Stock photo of police tape. (Carl Ballou/Shutterstock)

The police have arrested a 22-year-old man for the murder of four men in an apartment in Beaumont, Texas, on Sept. 29.

The Beaumont Police arrested Lively James Stratton for the murder of four Beaumont men—Bobby Wyatt, 39; Shannon Sutton, 23; Alvin Lee Bellard, 32; and Elijah Rideau, 33, on Sunday afternoon.

The Police said in a press conference that an officer was patrolling the area at about 12.30 p.m. when he heard some gunshots.

“While he was looking, we got a phone call from people in the neighborhood saying that there has been a shooting in 4100 block of highland,” said Officer Carol Riley, according to 12 News .

When the officer went to the location he found four people suffering from gunshots.

“Two of the victims were deceased. Two critically injured victims were transported to the hospital by EMS and died from their injuries,” the Beaumont Police said in a statement on Facebook.

The four roommates were involved in an escalation that resulted in the shooting, said Riley. Stratton’s bond was set on $4 million, one million for each homicide victim, according to 12 News.

“We are sorry for the loss,” Riley said. “I know this is really hard on a community that’s been rocked with so much devastation during Tropical Storm Imelda and the loss of four lives in our community is just more than I can even console you with. There’s just no words,” said Riley.

About 100 people from the community gathered outside the shooting scene for hours, reported the Beaumont enterprise.

“This is the last thing people around here need,” Anthony Bill, who lives on the first floor of the duplex where the shooting took place, told Beaumont Enterprise.

“It’s just really hard for the community and my heart really goes out to their family,” neighbor Cynthia Flowers told 12 News.

Riley said Police generally see a decrease in crime during natural disasters and the shooting increases misery during these hard times.

“After Hurricane Harvey and the flooding then, people were just busy taking care of each other,” she said. “This is sad. People don’t realize that this is just adding so much misery to people who have lost so much.”

Police have asked for public support during the investigation. Tips can be shared by contacting Southeast Texas Crime Stoppers at 409-833-TIPS or download the P3 TIPS app and submit your tip using your smartphone or computer. Police are also offering a reward for useful information, stated on the Beaumont Police Facebook page.