2 killed, 10 hurt in shootings near New Orleans parade route

Article content

Two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands on Sunday, authorities said. There were no immediate arrests.

Article content

Recommended Videos

Officers responding to reports of gunfire shortly after 3:30 p.m. on an avenue in the city’s St. Roch neighbourhood found eight victims with gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the New Orleans Police Department. All eight were taken to hospitals in unknown condition. Police later said a ninth wounded person arrived at a hospital via a private car.

About 45 minutes later, police received another report of gunfire as revellers were crossing the Almonaster Avenue Bridge, about 1 km to the north. One person died at the scene and another died at a hospital, police said. A third victim was driven to a hospital in a private vehicle and was in stable condition, police said.

No arrests were announced and no suspect information was released. The St. Roch neighbourhood is outside the city’s French Quarter that is popular with tourists, located several blocks northeast of the quarter.

Article content

The Almonaster bridge was closed in both directions during the investigation.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

Police Supt. Anne Kirkpatrick said detectives didn’t immediately know if the incidents were related.

“They were … different kinds of approaches,” she said of the shootings, which occurred in the area where a “second line,” a celebration following a parade, was taking place.

Thousands had gathered for the annual outing of the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club in the 9th Ward, organizer Oscar Brown told NOLA.com.

“It is a wonderful event, and we want to keep it a wonderful event,” Kirkpatrick said.

It was the second major shooting in the South since gunfire marred a homecoming weekend at Tuskegee University in Alabama on Nov. 10, leaving one person dead and injuring 16 others, a dozen of them by gunfire, authorities said.

Article content