Derrick Coleman was just 32 years old, visiting from Houston, Texas, when his life was cut short in the middle of the night. It was supposed to be a regular stay in downtown Shreveport, but it ended in complete tragedy. Just after 1:00 a.m. on Monday, July 20, 2026, gunshots broke the quiet night outside the Holiday Inn Express & Suites on Lake Street.
Coleman was caught in the crosshairs out in the hotel parking lot, taking multiple bullets to his upper body. Nobody knows yet why he was standing out there or who he was meeting. But when officers pulled up to the 200 block of Lake Street at 1:07 a.m., they found him lying on the pavement, fighting for every single breath.
First responders didn’t waste a second trying to keep Coleman alive right there on the scene. Shreveport police officers jumped in immediately to give emergency medical aid until the fire department’s medics rushed over to take over. You could feel the sheer panic and urgency in the air as they loaded him into the ambulance and sped off toward the hospital.
Medics rushed Coleman straight to Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport, where doctors worked tirelessly for hours to save him. His injuries were brutal and life-threatening, but the medical staff gave it everything they had through the dark early morning hours.
Despite all the desperate efforts to save his life, Coleman’s battle ended just as the sun was coming up. The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office officially pronounced him dead at 7:19 a.m. Monday morning. In an instant, a 32-year-old man from Texas became another heartbreaking loss for a family back home now searching for answers.
The coroner has ordered an autopsy to figure out the exact details of how Coleman died and piece together his final moments. Meanwhile, his death leaves a huge hole in the hearts of those who knew him, as well as endless unanswered questions about what drew him to that lot in the middle of the night.
Tragically, Derrick Coleman’s violent death marks the 27th confirmed homicide in Shreveport so far in 2026. For a community trying to curb the violence, it is another painful reminder of how fast a human life can be taken away on a quiet street corner.
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