By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – It was an unimaginable Christmas night for many in Slidell.
Eight had been shot, one was left dead, and one would die the next day from injuries after being shot. The local community took to Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media to find out who had been shot, who was OK, and what had happened.
According to Slidell Police Spokesman Det. Daniel Seuzeneau, around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26 a fight started in Olde Towne Slidell outside Shooters Sports Bar at 2144 First St., which left eight gunshot victims and two local young men dead.
Salmen High School graduate and former football player Errol “Ro” Scott was shot and killed shortly after Christmas night. Known as Ro to his friends and family, the 22-year-old was planning on attending Hinds Community College to play football in the spring.
Salmen head football coach Jerry Leonard said Scott was one of the nicest kids he had ever coached.
“He played for me for four years, and I never had a problem with him. He was always smiling and in a good mood. He was a great kid, and on top of that a great athlete, which made him special,” Leonard said. “I don’t understand the senseless violence that these kids have to deal with these days. I’ll never understand it.”
Scott wore jersey No. 4 for the Spartans, the same number that former Salmen player and now-Kansas State quarterback Daniel Sams wore. The two were good friends and they also played football together in junior high at St. Tammany.
Sams took to Instagram to express his feelings.
“…you better believe 4 is gonna get live for you Saturday night. Tell everybody in heaven to watch the game. Love you Ro. Rip.”
Sams played in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Saturday at Tempe, Arizona where he dedicated the contest to his fallen teammate.
James Foucha played with Scott at Salmen as a receiver and said he was with him in Olde Towne the night of the shooting. Foucha said he was also with Scott almost every day.
“We played together for three years, and he had a smile that could light up the room. He wasn’t a negative person in any way. He was one of the funniest people I knew. I feel like everyone should know he wasn’t a target. He was a good person. He was a very good person. He didn’t get in any fights. Wrong place, wrong time,” Foucha said. “He was somebody that I was with every day if not every other day. It’s going to get better, but for right now it’s going to be hard. Pray for his mom.”
Isame Faciane, another teammate of Scott, said the Salmen grad had lots of friends.
“I met Ro when I was in sixth grade through my cousin Malcolm (Pichon). He didn’t really go out or anything — he stayed home. He was a friendly person who was cool with anybody. He was a funny guy, and I never knew him to get into a fight with anybody. He always had a smile,” Faciane said. “Anytime we had a boring moment, he would lighten it up. He could imitate anybody’s voice, like the coaches, and we would get a kick out of that. He loved playing football; it was his passion. I picked Ro up that night, and we got him to go out because it was probably going to be our last time together for awhile.”
Slidell High School graduate and former Tiger football player Mark Womack, 23, died at about 11 a.m. Thursday at Slidell Memorial Hospital.
Womack graduated from Slidell High in 2009 and was a student at Southeastern Louisiana University, majoring in sports management. He worked at Cate Street Seafood Station and was the president of Tau Kappa Epsilon.
The Hammond-based restaurant published on Facebook, “We would like to send our thoughts and prayers to the family of Mark Womack. He was a friend, co-worker, and a great employee. Mark you will be missed by your Cate Street Family but never forgotten. Rest in peace my friend.”
Womack played for former Slidell football coach Artie Liuzza.
“He was a hard working young man, and I liked coaching him. In 2008, we had a pretty good group of four seniors, and they were a close knit group. That was a pretty good group of kids. I just think this is so terrible what happened. Mark was a good kid, and that was a unique year of coaching him,” Liuzza said. “I remember his mom, and we used to do the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athlete) breakfasts before the game. I feel so bad for the whole family.”
One of Womack’s longest friends said the Slidell grad was a great person.
“We went to school together from kindergarten through high school and played offensive line together. He was a great guy and had lots of great friends. He got along with everybody, and a lot of people knew him and hung out with him,” Randy Mace said. “We were in FCA together and he made good grades. He was just such a great guy. This is a shame.”