Police have made an arrest in a fatal shooting that happened at Avery Trace Apartments less than 24 hours after the crime.

Dianne Malik Burrell, 20, of Port Arthur is charged with the murder of Javonte Dashon Jack, 20.

As Burrell was being loaded into a waiting squad car on Wednesday, he told media that he was at the scene of Tuesday night’s fatal shooting and that he shot the victim in self defense. Officers said Burrell made a statement regarding his involvement prior to his arrest.

Police Chief Patrick Melvin told media that an autopsy has been scheduled and the investigation ongoing, as other people are involved in the crime.

The identity of the alleged shooter came from a tip from a citizen, according to police.

The call of shots fired and a man down came in around 7:35 p.m. Nov. 7. Initial investigation showed the suspect was outside one of the complex buildings and confronted the victim. The victim was transported to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont where he later died as a result of his injuries.

The citizen tip led police to a home in the 4100 block of Fourth Street Wednesday morning.

“That individual exited the back door of the house with a pistol and there was brief standoff,” Det. Mike Hebert said. “He fled on foot.”

Hebert said the man ran four blocks to the 4000 block of Lakeshore and, at the sea wall, tossed the pistol over the wall and into the water.

Catherine Pitre, who lives near the seawall, said her dogs began barking in her yard and when she looked through her window she saw a young man run by holding a gun.

“I looked across the street t see where he was going and there was a gun hanging in his right hand,” Pitre said. She quickly called a neighbor and told them to get inside and lock their doors.

Second later she saw an officer giving chase to the suspect as he ran through an open gate of the nearby pump station.

Across the street adjacent to the pump station, construction worker Frank Contreras Jr. looked up and saw a man with a gun on his right side running. The armed man got to the pump station area as officers arrived.

“He launched the gun off the wall,” Contreras said describing how the gunman tossed the weapon over the seawall. “That’s not something you expect to see; maybe (you’d) see it on TV. And you could see the gun in plain view.”

A group of officers stayed on scene at the Fourth Street home and later searched the home on a warrant. Divers with the Port Arthur Fire Department were called in to search for the weapon in the ship channel. It had not been found as of 5 p.m.