Port Arthur Police share details after separate shootings leave 1 dead, 2 injured

Published 12:38 am Tuesday, February 1, 2022

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A violent weekend in Port Arthur ended with one person fatally shot and another injured at an apartment complex.

An unrelated drive-by shooting also occurred, where a woman was shot in the lower leg.

James Botley Jr., 20, died Saturday night after a shooting at Encore Apartments on Jimmy Johnson Boulevard.

A Port Arthur police vehicle was at the apartment complex Monday morning. (Mary Meaux/The News)

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His death marked the third homicide in the city this year. Police were called to the apartments at approximately 8:15 p.m. in reference to the shooting. When they arrived, they found a man dead at the scene, according to Sgt. Timothy Dinger.

Police believe a verbal altercation led to the shooting.

An individual believed to be at the scene was brought to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his lower leg. The injury was not life threatening and he has since been released, Port Arthur Police Det. Mike Hebert said.

Hebert said the investigation was “very fluid” and “ongoing” as of Monday. However, Hebert said police believe more than two people were on scene at the time of the shooting.

Botley did not live at the apartment complex.

A man was fatally shot at Encore Apartments in Port Arthur Saturday night. (Mary Meaux/The News)

A person was taken into custody at the time but later released, Hebert said.

As of Monday afternoon, no arrests had been made.

A second, unrelated shooting occurred at approximately 11 p.m. Saturday in the 4000 block of 3rd Street.

A woman was sitting in a vehicle when a drive-by shooting occurred. She was struck in the lower leg, and her injury is not life threatening.

Hebert said police do not think this shooting was random.

A person of interest has been identified, and detectives are following leads in the case, he said.