Mother in critical condition after shooting on Lake Lawford Ct (Sherwood Forest)

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A 41-year-old mother is paralyzed from the chest down after she was shot multiple times by her boyfriend Wednesday morning in the 4600 block of Lake Lawford Court, following an argument between the couple, according to Baton Rouge police.

The woman, a mother of three, was shot while sitting in a bathtub, police spokesman Sgt. L'Jean McKneely said. The woman is in stable but critical condition at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. Doctors told police that the woman is paralyzed from the chest down "at this point," according to the report.

Her boyfriend, 46-year-old Carl Thompson Jr., turned himself in after calling the police to the scene, McKneely said. He was arrested and booked into Parish Prison Wednesday afternoon on counts of attempted second-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon.

The woman told police there had not been a physical altercation before Thompson began shooting at her, the arrest report says. She was hit in her chest, back and right arm multiple times, and six bullet casings were located at the scene, five in the bathtub where she was sitting, the arrest report says.

The incident occurred around 7:45 a.m. off South Sherwood Forest Boulevard in Baton Rouge. One of the woman's three children, a baby, was found on a bed in the master bedroom when police arrived at the home, the report said. The baby was placed in the care of relatives.

Thompson, 8508 Greenwell Springs Road Apt. 7, met police on the front porch and surrendered without incident, the arrest report says.

Bob Sindelar, 73, lives across the street from the house where the woman was shot. He said he woke up to seeing a policeman with a gun outside his house, something that is out of the ordinary.

"This is a very good neighborhood, very established," Sindelar said.

He said the family that lives in the house where the shooting happened are renters, and have lived there for about a year. They have two elementary school-aged children and a young baby, Sindelar said. He said he saw the family infrequently and didn't know them very well.

District Attorney Hillar Moore III showed up at the scene of the shooting Wednesday morning, upset to hear of another domestic violence incident in his parish.

"It's another one of those situations that is 100 percent preventable," Moore said. "It's sad that whatever was going on here resulted in an innocent mother being shot multiple times."

This incident happened a day prior to Moore's release of his 2016 Domestic Violence report.

"I hope that this case and the injuries to this lady don't go unnoticed way into the future," Moore said. "Maybe we can awaken more people. We hope that it prevents another (domestic violence injury)."

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