At Least 3 Dead, Several Injured In New Orleans Shooting Attack
A manhunt is underway in New Orleans for two suspects who police say fired “indiscriminately” at a crowd on Saturday night, killing at least three people and injuring several others.
New Orleans Police Chief Michael Harrison said two individuals wearing hooded sweatshirts opened fire at a daiquiri shop located in the 3400 block of Claiborne Avenue, about three miles from the city’s famed French Quarter.
Harrison said the suspects, armed with a long rifle and a handgun, “appeared to fire indiscriminately” at a “large crowd,” though they “stood over one individual and fired more than once at that person” before fleeing on foot, The Times-Picayune reported.
“This is an extremely tragic incident,” Harrison said at a press conference early Sunday.
Harrison said two men and a woman died in the shooting. Seven other victims — five men and two women — were injured, at least one of them critically. No further details were immediately available about the victims.
The Times-Picayune described a bleak scene in the aftermath of the attack. “Sounds of shouts and crying were heard throughout the chaotic scene late Saturday and into Sunday,” the paper said.
Here’s the scene on Claiborne. Still waiting for an update from NOPD chief about what happened pic.twitter.com/lW4Ee6gTsd
— Matt Sledge (@mgsledge) July 29, 2018
The city’s mayor, LaToya Cantrell, condemned the violence in a statement and vowed to “dedicate every resource necessary to ending this horror and seeing justice done.”
“I speak for everyone in our City when I say we are disgusted, we are infuriated, & we have had more than enough,” she wrote on Twitter. “Three more lives — gone. It has to end. It’s unacceptable anywhere.”
There is no place in New Orleans for this kind of violence. I speak for everyone in our City when I say we are disgusted, we are infuriated, & we have had more than enough. Three more lives — gone. It has to end. It’s unacceptable anywhere. pic.twitter.com/WqUWcf75V3
— Mayor LaToya Cantrell (@mayorcantrell) July 29, 2018
Police have asked anyone with information about the shooting to step forward ― and urged those affected by the attack to not “take matters into their own hands.”
“If violence is going to be the life you choose, then prison is going to be the price you pay,” Harrison said, adding that his officers would work tirelessly to ensure the perpetrators are promptly caught.
The New Orleans Advocate identified the site of the shooting as Jazz Daiquiris & Lounge, where the paper said gang killings have occurred in the past.
It remained unclear whether Saturday’s attack was gang-related.
From @MattHintonPhoto at the scene on South Claiborne in New Orleans where 10 have been shot (3 killed): https://t.co/drYo3FoX8Ppic.twitter.com/EVhkDoxGTh
— New Orleans Advocate (@theadvocateno) July 29, 2018
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