A 27-year-old man driving a woman’s stolen car opened fire on her SUV during a daylight chase on New Year’s Eve, hitting her 2-year-old daughter in the head, police said. Detectives arrested Landrick Ruffin after a multiday search and said he is being held on six counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of illegal use of a weapon.
Authorities said the shooting unfolded around midafternoon Dec. 31 near Harding Boulevard on the city’s north side, where the child’s mother believed she recognized her stolen vehicle. She followed the car for several blocks toward 79th Avenue and Pembroke Street before the driver stopped and fired repeatedly at her SUV, according to police. The toddler was rushed to a hospital in grave critical condition and remained hospitalized into the weekend. Investigators later announced the stolen-car lead was correct and said six people were inside the mother’s vehicle at the time of the attack. The case has drawn citywide attention at the start of the new year and prompted fresh calls from officials for information-sharing and restraint when theft victims spot their vehicles on the road.
Police said the initial sighting happened about 3 p.m. on Dec. 31 as the woman drove toward a fast-food restaurant on Harding Boulevard. When she saw a vehicle matching her stolen car, she trailed it through nearby streets. After a loop of several blocks, the driver of the stolen car stopped, got out and “fired multiple shots back at her vehicle,” Sergeant L’Jean McKneely said. One round pierced the SUV and struck the child in a car seat. With the back window shattered and the toddler bleeding, the mother drove to the Baton Rouge Police Department’s Fourth District station for help. Medics met her there and took the girl to Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. “The baby was transported to the hospital — now in grave critical condition,” McKneely said.
Detectives said the shooter’s car was, in fact, the woman’s stolen vehicle and identified the suspect as Ruffin, 27. The mother’s SUV, a Chevrolet, carried six occupants, police said, which formed the basis for six attempted murder counts. Investigators canvassed blocks near 79th Avenue and Pembroke Street, collected shell casings and pulled nearby video, then used license-plate readers to develop leads. East Baton Rouge Parish deputies later detained Ruffin during a traffic stop and transferred him to city detectives. As the case moved from street search to court, police emphasized that the child remained in critical condition and that charges could be upgraded if her condition worsened. City leaders called the shooting “completely unacceptable,” and a mayoral statement asked residents to keep the family in their thoughts.
The known sequence begins with a reported auto theft in the days before the holiday, followed by the mother’s New Year’s Eve sighting and pursuit, a stop on a neighborhood block and the eruption of gunfire. Investigators said the suspect fired multiple rounds at close range into the rear of the SUV. First responders documented bullet strikes on the liftgate and side panels and marked a field of glass on the pavement. Detectives also requested event data from nearby traffic cameras and checked 911 calls for earlier sightings of the stolen vehicle. Witnesses described a brief chase at residential speeds and said they heard several sharp cracks followed by screaming. One neighbor who ran outside said he saw a damaged SUV accelerate away while another car sped in the opposite direction.
Police said the injured child arrived at the hospital in critical condition with a head wound and underwent emergency care. Officials have not released the child’s name. Doctors prepared for potential neurosurgical consultation as detectives guarded the treatment area and gathered consent for evidence photographs. Family members and friends clustered at the hospital overnight, and a community pastor said prayer circles formed in waiting rooms as New Year’s Day began. By Jan. 2, authorities announced that Ruffin had been taken into custody on six counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of illegal use of a weapon. They said the decision to pursue attempted murder charges reflected both the seriousness of the child’s injuries and the number of people placed at risk inside the targeted vehicle.
Ruffin was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, where records list him on a seven-figure bond schedule pending a formal hearing. A commissioner set an initial appearance as the district attorney’s office began reviewing arrest reports, video and forensic submissions. Detectives said they recovered surveillance images along the route and that license plate reader hits helped place the stolen car near the scene in the minutes before the shooting. Additional steps include firearm comparisons if a weapon is recovered, trace analysis on bullet fragments and follow-up interviews with passengers in the SUV. Investigators said their timeline accounts for the mother’s drive to the Fourth District station and the handoff to medics before the hospital transfer.
Officials said the area around Harding Boulevard and 79th Avenue carries a mix of apartments, fast-food restaurants and neighborhood streets where midday traffic can be heavy. License plate readers line several nearby corridors, and detectives often use them in theft investigations to create movement logs. Officers taped off portions of the block as forensic technicians collected shell casings and photographed bullet paths. Neighbors said patrol units remained into the evening while technicians measured distances from impact points on the SUV to likely shooter positions along the curb. By nightfall on Dec. 31, cruisers had cleared but marked evidence tags were still visible near a storm drain and driveway apron.
The criminal case moves next into early-stage court proceedings. Prosecutors may seek a grand jury indictment after lab work and witness statements are finalized. A bond hearing was scheduled for the first week of January, when a judge could set or modify bond and impose conditions such as no-contact orders and geographic restrictions. If the child’s condition changes, prosecutors could consider upgraded counts. Separate from criminal charges, the investigation includes a full reconstruction and retrieval of neighborhood video to resolve any disputes about speed, distances and who fired from where. Officials said the mother’s report of a stolen car is tied to a prior case file, and detectives are cross-referencing that report for ownership and timeline details.
Outside the Fourth District station on New Year’s Eve, officers scrubbed blood from the rear floor of the SUV as crime-scene tape fluttered in a winter breeze. A man who said he heard the shots said the bangs sounded like “firecrackers, then a woman crying.” A neighbor who declined to give a name said she pulled her own children inside after seeing the shattered window. At the hospital, a spokesperson said staff were working through the holiday to support the family and coordinate with investigators. City leaders issued statements saying the incident “shook Baton Rouge” and that prayers were with the child. Pastors and community advocates described a familiar cycle of grief and anger, saying families gathered to comfort the mother while detectives continued interviews.
As of Sunday, the 2-year-old remained hospitalized in critical condition and Ruffin was jailed on six counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of illegal use of a weapon. The next public milestone is expected at a bond hearing set for Jan. 6, when a judge will review charging documents and arguments from both sides. Police said additional updates will follow as lab results return and as the child’s condition is reassessed.
Author note: Last updated January 4, 2026.