Daughters of two other victims in deadly officer-involved shooting speak out
VILLE PLATTE, La. (KLFY) – The daughters of a woman still fighting to survive after a deadly officer-involved shooting in Ville Platte are speaking out for the first time.
Their mother, 45-year-old Cynthia Soileau, was one of the three people shot when officers attempted to execute a narcotics search warrant. She was the only of those shot to survive. Ville Platte Deputy Marshal Barry Giglio and Soileau's husband, 64-year-old Sistrane Edwards, died of their gunshot wounds.
"We love him so much, and we're just sorry that that had to happen. It could have been prevented. There was no reason for us to lose our stepdad at all. There's no reason for my mom to be in the ICU right now," Zaharias Soileau said.
Soileau and her sister, Elise Williamson, are not only mourning the death of their stepfather, a disabled, veteran with 13 years in law enforcement himself. They're also hoping for a miracle, as their mother remains in the ICU in critical condition.
The sisters tell News 10, a bullet hit her in the face, traveling through her tongue. She may never speak again.
"The worst part about this all is that we can't even tell my mom that our stepdad passed away or that the pet passed away yet because the doctors are scared that it's going to affect her healing process. So she doesn't even know," Soileau said, holding back tears.
As they pray for their mother, their minds are also on their brother, 23-year-old Vonteeko Anderson, who's now in custody charged First Degree Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer.
"He would never purposefully hurt anyone, never," Soileau said.
Anderson's sisters say their mother, stepfather, brother, and her brother's girlfriend had only recently moved into the home where the search warrant was executed.
They say a violent robbery at their previous house forced the family to move there, and they believe that played a factor in what happened Monday night.
"It was all out of fear. Anybody in their right mind, if you hear somebody breaking into your home, is going to assume that you're in danger. The first instinct you're going to have is to protect yourself and your family," Soileau added.
While their family picks up the pieces, they also have Deputy Marshal Barry Giglio and his family in their prayers.
"We do want justice for Barry's family as well because of this operation that happened. It put his life at risk for no reason, so I think with that, everything that was done in the procedure should be changed so that no incidents happen like this to where innocent people die," Elise Williamson said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with their mother's medical bills as well as to pay for their stepfather's funeral.