Uber driver, passenger killed in targeted shooting, reports say. Now there’s an arrest
One suspect is in custody and police are searching for others after a shooting on an interstate left two men dead and one woman injured, New Orleans police say.
Tyree Quinn, 33, is accused of shooting 21-year-old Johnnell Hampton and his Uber driver, 35-year-old Andrew Stiller, in a targeted attack, police announced March 1.
On Feb. 20, police responded to reports of a shooting on an I-10 service road and arrived to find a two-vehicle crash between a black Dodge and a white Nissan, a news release said.
Inside the Dodge, police found Stiller and Hampton, both suffering from gunshot wounds. Police said in a March 1 news conference that both men were pronounced dead on the scene.
Stiller’s wife told WDSU that he had only been driving for Uber for a few weeks to earn some extra cash and that he had stopped to pick up a passenger when the gunshots began.
Police said they believe that shots were fired into Stiller’s car in a targeted attack against Hampton, though they did not share a possible motive.
Stiller’s wife said police confirmed to her that Stiller was not the target of the shooting, WGNO reported.
After shots were fired at the car, police say it veered onto the interstate and crashed into a white Nissan with three people inside.
One of the people inside, an unidentified woman, had been shot by a stray bullet, and all three passengers were taken to a local hospital.
Police said they do not believe the white Nissan was involved in the shooting.
Quinn was arrested on March 1 on multiple charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. Police said at the news conference that they believe others were involved in the shooting and they will continue to investigate.
Hampton was a student at Southern University at New Orleans, WWL-TV reported.
“He was just full of life and so vibrant,” Hampton’s grandfather, John Banks-Morgan, told WWL-TV. “He had his dreams and goals and things set, and he was just really trying to find his way.”
Stiller was a musician and drove Uber part-time, according to Facebook posts from his wife. He and his wife were two days away from celebrating their first wedding anniversary when he was killed.
“Andrew Stiller really was a bright light in this world and in my life. People don’t know the person he was behind closed doors. Here is a little glimpse of what me and our entire family has had ripped away from us,” his wife, Melissa Stiller, shared on her Facebook.
Stiller’s friends and family shared photos and videos of him playing music, and his wife shared a video of the first dance on their wedding day to celebrate their anniversary.
This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Uber driver, passenger killed in targeted shooting, reports say. Now there’s an arrest."
