Louisiana Coffee Shop Owner Shot While Opening Store

As if Louisiana business owners don't have enough hurdles to dodge, a local coffee shop owner was shot while opening his store.

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WBRZ reported that the owner of the Coffee Bean Cafe on Coursey Boulevard in Baton Rouge arrived at his shop to begin opening tasks when someone opened fire, shooting him in the shoulder, despite residents saying that it is considered a safe area.

"I was shocked. You don't see shootings in our neighborhood. This is a very safe neighborhood. A lot of families. We actually have a lot of police that are in the neighborhood constantly patrolling, so we feel like it's a pretty safe spot in Baton Rouge," Jenna Lemmon, who lives behind the coffee shop, told WBRZ.

WBRZ reported that police have seen anywhere from 10 to 20 robberies in the area north of Coursey and east of Sherwood a year. There were 13 in 2023, which was less than in 2022, which had 20 robberies investigated by police.

Baton Rouge Police Cheif Thomas Morse believes that this was likely an attempted robbery, even though that rarely happens in the Lake Sherwood area ""It's true we don't have that many calls for service in this area."

Lemmon, shocked by the incident, who shared her concern, "At 6:30 in the morning? Waking up to get a cup of coffee? For that kind of violence to happen to a locally owned business is jarring and puts us all on edge."

Baton Rouge Police are still searching for the suspect and have collected surveillance videos from other businesses nearby.

The victim's wife told WBRZ that her husband is doing okay for the most part but, unfortunately, will need surgery.

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