Sheriff: Depressed veteran arrested for attempted murder

LULING, La. – An Army veteran struggling from depression as a result of war wounds has been arrested on three counts of attempted murder after he shot his father-in-law in the chest and was poised to throw a Molotov cocktail into a home, according to the St. Charles Parish sheriff.

Deputies arrested William Canada Jr., 30, on Tuesday.

Sheriff Greg Champagne said he was poised to toss a Molotov cocktail into a home Tuesday morning where his estranged wife and parents were when he was spotted on the porch by her father.

Champagne told The Advocate (http://bit.ly/2aNtksD ) that Canada fired 40 shots at the house and wounded his father-in-law in the chest before fleeing. The father-in-law was treated at University Medical Center and released.

The sheriff said Canada was wounded during a tour of duty in Afghanistan and sought treatment for an addiction to oxycodone, which he began using as a result of head injuries he suffered from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

He said Canada’s wife filed for divorce on July 22.

Canada was being held at the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com