Two shot at Halloween party

• Advocate River parishes bureau
• Published: Nov 4, 2009 - Page: 5B

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GONZALES — Police searched on Tuesday for a man accused of shooting two people Saturday during a fight at a Halloween party reportedly attended by as many as 250 guests at the home of former NBA player John “Hot Rod” Williams.

The two victims told police at the hospital they did not know the shooter, but said the man had fired aggressively into the crowd, according to a Gonzales Police Department statement.

Police said the victims told investigators some people in the crowd were fighting and some were not.

Police investigators are interviewing 180 of the 200 to 250 people believed to be attending the party at 1816 E. Hermitage St., Gonzales, but have not identified the attacker, police said.

The two victims were taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales on Saturday with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds to their upper thighs, police said.

When police initially arrived Saturday, Williams, 47, agreed to shut down the party so police could gain control and identify participants. Attendees ranged in age from 12 to 20, police said.

Police have not found the firearm involved, but recovered a pistol bullet from concrete next to Williams’ home.

Williams, a graduate of St. Amant High School and a Sorrento native, was in the National Basketball Association for 13 years, playing forward and center for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns.

He was indicted in a point-shaving scheme alleged to have occurred during his senior season at Tulane University in 1984-85, but he was later acquitted.

Anyone with information identifying the shooter is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-STOP or the Gonzales Police Department at (225) 647-9537.