One person was killed and four others were injured after a shooting near the end of the route of Sunday’s Krewe of Bacchus parade, one of the biggest of the Mardi Gras season in New Orleans, police said.
The shooting was reported at 9:30 p.m., police said, along the busy Uptown parade route. It is a stretch, populated by bars, where large crowds gather.
A reporter from NBC affiliate WDSU in New Orleans was at the scene and said the parade stopped when the shots broke out.
“I thought it sounded like 20 gunshots,” witness Stacey Morigeau said WDSU reporter. “It was rapid fire. And everyone started running.”
Police officials said in an informal news conference that officers were nearby, heard gunfire and rushed to the scene, near St. Charles Avenue and Terpsichore Street. There, they found the five victims and two handguns.
Police initially said five people, a girl, a woman and three others identified as males, were injured in the shooting. All were taken to a hospital, where one of the male victims was later pronounced dead, they said. The other four victims had been in stable condition since early Monday morning.
Image: US-CRIME-SHOOTING-MARDI GRAS (Chandan Khanna/AFP – Getty Images)
It is unclear what led to the violence.
A suspect was arrested less than a block away and two weapons were confiscated, police said.
The parade, one of the main Carnival events in the city, was scheduled to start at 5.15pm on Sunday.
Shrove Tuesday is Tuesday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Hans Ganthier expressed disappointment and said local law enforcement agencies are doing everything they can to ensure a safe Mardi Gras this year.
“With the quick apprehension they did, they were able to keep the rest of the public safe,” he said of the responding officers.
“That said, this isn’t really something we wanted to see,” said Ganthier. “We really wanted it to be a safe Mardi Gras and we continue to work towards that end.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
