Police in New Orleans say one person was killed and nine were wounded after gunfire erupted in the city’s crowded French Quarter early Sunday morning.
Eight men and two women, ranging in age from 20 to 37, were shot near the intersection of Bourbon Street and Iberville Street just before 1:30 a.m.
Ambulances took several victims to local hospitals, but one of the men has since died from his injuries. The conditions of the others were not known as of late Sunday morning.
“We do not have the information about what precipitated the shooting right now,” New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Michael Harrison said in a press conference, adding that detectives were still working on the scene.
Harrison said extra police patrols were on duty for the annual Bayou Classic college football game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars at the city’s Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Saturday. Thirty police officers were stationed on the 100 block of Bourbon Street alone when the shots rang out and they were able to respond quickly, he added.
“NOPD officers made two arrests at the scene, both males, for illegal carrying of weapons charges,” police later said in a statement. “One of the arrested individuals was identified as a victim in the incident, who is being treated for his injuries. The second arrest was an unrelated individual found to be in illegal possession of a handgun at the scene.”
At the same press conference, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the shooting was “totally unacceptable” and he vowed to “pursue these individuals very, very aggressively.”
Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP.
