Police spokesperson Traci Landry said one victim died at the scene, while the other was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries.
Two employees of the Horseshoe Bossier City were shot in the parking garage on Friday. One of those shot was pronounced dead at the scene by Bossier City Police Department officers.
The other Horseshoe employee was rushed by the Bossier City Fire Department to a Oschner LSU Health Hospital with serious injuries — some accounts said “life-threatening” injuries. The shootings happened at around 9pm Central Time on Friday night. The names of the victims have not been released.
The incident occured on the 5th level of the Horseshoe’s parking garage.
Traci Landry, a spokesperson for local police, said the shootings were not a random crime. Both of the employees knew one another outside of casino work. No arrests have been made and the BCPD said the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident remains open.
Shooter Not Yet Identified
Officer Landry said the parking garage was on lockdown after the incident, with the 5th level still being treated as a crime scene. Lower levels of the parking garage have since reopened.
Police said they do not plan on releasing other information at this time. Their spokesperson did say they felt the public was not in danger at this time. The Bossier City police would not confirm whether the suspect was in custody.
About Horseshoe Bossier City
The Horseshoe Bossier City, owned by Caesars Entertainment, is a riverboat casino located in Bossier City, a city of 61,000 people located in northwestern Louisiana. The Horseshoe has 29,601 square foot of gaming space, 1372 gaming machines, and 55 gaming tables.
The gaming tables include blackjack, craps, mini-baccarat, roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Let It Ride, and 3 Card Poker. The gaming space also has its own poker room. The gaming machine selection includes 1262 slot machines and 110 video poker machines.
The Horseshoe Bossier City‘s advertised slots includes IGT favorites like Wheel of Fortune (progressive), Megabucks, Fabulous 50s, Party Time, and Addams Family. Eighteen different Anchor’s Wheel of Gold slot machines also are found on slots row.
About Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City is a part of suburban area which includes Shreveport. It is home to the Bossier Strip, described as a series of nightclubs, casinos, bars, restaurants, and strip clubs. Wikipedia suggests the Bossier Strip is known for its live music and prostitution.
The Bossier Strip has been a destination for gambling for as long as Las Vegas (since the 1930s), though it has long since faded into obscurity compared to Sin City. As of 2018, Bossier City has 6 riverboat casinos, while Shreveport has 5.
Louisiana’s state legislature has considered removing the riverboat casino restrictions, allowing operators to build full land-based casinos. Such a move would allow operators to better compete in the current gaming environment. Land-based casino complexes also would allow casinos to open a sportsbook, if ever Louisiana legalized sports betting.
Lousiana vs. Oklahoma Border Casinos
Bossier City and Shreveport are gaming destinations because of their proximity to the Texas-Lousiana border. As Lake Charles, Louisiana is a destination for Houston-area gamblers, Bossier City and Shreveport are destinations for Texas gamblers from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Located between 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours from DFW, much of the 11 casinos’ traffic comes from that North Texas area.
Since Oklahoma tribal casinos built operations near the Red River, Dallas gamblers have a shorter (one-hour) trip to Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma and the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Those operations have curtailed visits from DFW customers and challenged the local operations to compete. Having full land-based casinos certainly would help such operations.
