Fight Over Divorce Leads To Attempted Murder/Suicide

"PORT ARTHUR, TX — A Port Arthur man is dead after he shot his soon-to-be-ex-wife in the leg and himself in the chest Saturday afternoon.

"When Port Arthur police arrived in the 3900 block of 30th Street at about 3:15 p.m., they found a woman with a gunshot wound to the leg lying in the driveway, according to a news release from the Port Arthur Police Department.

"They also found a man who had been shot in the chest, the release states.

"The couple have been identified as Gerald Lavergne, Sr., 50, and Melissa Lavergne, 48, said Maj. Raymond Clark with PAPD.

"The two were getting divorced, and the woman had gone to the home to pick up some belongings when she got into a fight with the man, the release states.

"The man then took a .45-caliber handgun from his car and shot the woman in the leg before shooting himself in the chest, the release states.

"He was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was taken to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in stable condition.

"The police department's Criminal Investigations Division is investigating the shooting."

Source: Beaumont Enterprise...