"I knew I was being attacked," Bre Morgan (pictured above) said. "I knew it was something...uh, it was sexual."
On Sunday afternoon, March 3, 2024, in Lacombe, Louisiana, Nicholas Tranchant was prowling for yet another victim. He'd been out of prison for less than three months after serving 15 years for Attempted Aggravated Rape and Aggravated Burglary. Five years before that, he'd been convicted of Indecent Behavior with Juveniles.
Brecan "Bre" Morgan, 27, had gone to The Laundry Room, a local coin laundry, to wash clothes for her two children. She was having trouble getting the automated washer to accept her dollar bill when Tranchant sidled up, supposedly to help. At the time, they were the only people in the business.
Bre, a single mother of two, works as a mental health technician and plans to attend nursing school.
In order to focus public attention on the numerous sex offenders living in Lacombe, she decided to identify herself and give interviews to reporters from WDSU News and WWLTV. (NOTE: I've compiled statements given by the victim into sequential order.)
"He came up to me ," Bre said, "and he pretended like he was trying to help me put my dollar in [the automatic washer] and he got right up behind me. That's when he made it clear like he was, his intentions were to assault me. I actually didn't see the weapon at first. He said, 'Give [it up] and you won't die.'"
The predator wasted no time. Tranchant grabbed her hair and attempted to drag her into the bathroom. Bre fought back, grabbing anything she could to keep from moving toward the back room.
Bre explained that "I was hanging onto the wall at one point. My shirt and my jacket came off. I was just trying everything like to get away. My biggest fear was my kids would have to grow up without me."
As they struggled, Tranchant pulled out his knife and stabbed her in the side. By this time, he had dragged her into the bathroom. That's when the attacker set his knife aside.
Bre wasted no time in grabbing the blade and stabbing her assailant--twice. She then fled to the parking lot and called St. Tammany's Parish Sheriff's Office. Deputies quickly responded. They found the lifeless body of Tranchant on the floor of the laundromat.
As Bre ended the interview, she said something that seemed to startle the reporter: "If you don't believe in God, you should. As soon as I got done asking God to help me, [Tranchant] put the knife down. That's when I picked it up and used it against him."
Bre was transported to a local hospital for treatment of her wounds.
St. Tammany's Parish Sheriff Randy Smith said, "I want to compliment this woman on the courage and strength she showed in fighting back against her attacker and ask for prayers for her continued recovery."
This story might have ended differently. Deputies could have found Bre dead inside the laundromat. Without her heroic actions, Nicholas Tranchant would almost certainly have targeted other women. Rapists rarely stop until they're caught, become disabled, or die. Bre's actions no doubt saved many women.
Reporters soon learned that in the small town of Lacombe, Louisiana, there are numerous registered sex offenders. WGNO reported that "according to data from the National Sex Offender Registry, there are more than 200 sex offenders living in Lacombe. That's something residents say needs to change." Bre is calling for local officials to reduce the number of offenders living in one area.
Some residents think there may have been other rape attempts or unreported assaults by Tranchant in the three months he lived there.
A friend started a gofundme page to help Bre Morgan with her medical bills until she can recover. If you're interested, click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bre-morgan-recover-from-attack
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