New Orleans police have arrested William West Jr., 17, in connection with the killing of Ferdinand Woolens, a recent Sophie B. Wright High School graduate who was shot during a party in the city’s Tremé neighborhood last month.
Orleans Parish court records show West made his first court appearance on June 9, when bond was set at $1 million.
Police said the shooting happened just after 12:15 a.m. on May 12 in the 1500 block of North Derbigny Street.
Officers responding to the scene found an adult male with gunshot wounds, and the Orleans Parish Coroner later identified the victim as 18-year-old Ferdinand Woolens.
Investigators said Woolens had been attending a high school graduation party when he was allegedly shot and killed.
According to the NOPD, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for West on one count of second degree murder.
He was arrested on June 9 with help from the Violent Offender Warrant Squad and booked into the Orleans Justice Center.
In court, Magistrate Commissioner Joyce Sallah ordered that if West makes bond, he must remain on 24 hour home confinement with an electronic ankle monitor and may leave only for school, court proceedings or medical appointments.
The NOPD also said other people shown in surveillance video may have been involved and is asking the public for help identifying them.
Police said the people in the footage can be heard talking, and detectives continue to investigate the rest of the group tied to the case.
Arrest in a case that shook New Orleans
The case has drawn intense attention because Woolens had just graduated from Sophie B. Wright and was seen as a young man with a bright future.
In an earlier report, classmates gathered at the New Orleans lakefront to remember him, and family members said he had been set to attend LSU on a full scholarship to study engineering.
At the time of his death, Woolens had only just completed his graduation celebration. Police said he was seated in an SUV after a late night party when he was shot.
He was taken to a hospital and died from his injuries on May 15, several days after the shooting.
Those who knew Woolens described him as bright, kind and full of promise.
Friends at a memorial gathering said his smile was contagious, and classmates said he was the kind of student who stood out for both his character and his academic goals.
One coach said Woolens was one of the brightest students at the school and was doing everything possible to reach his goals.
The arrest has brought some movement in the case, but detectives say the investigation is still active.
NOPD officials said they want the public’s help in identifying the other people seen in surveillance footage, and they urged anyone with information to contact homicide detectives or Crime Stoppers.
For now, the court case centers on West’s arrest and the murder charge, while the city continues to grieve the death of a teenager who had just crossed the graduation stage days before his life ended.
