S. Samuel
Weeks after Boston suffered headline-generating bombing attacks following an annual marathon, another nationally celebrated event, Mother's Day, ended with gunfire Sunday (May 12) in New Orleans.
According to reports, nearly 20 people were injured as a result of street violence caused by multiple shooters.
Gunmen opened fire on people marching in a neighborhood Mother’s Day parade in New Orleans on Sunday, wounding at least 19. The shooting — described by the FBI as a flare-up of street violence — shattered the festive mood surrounding the parade that drew hundreds of people to the 7th Ward neighborhood of modest row houses not far from the French Quarter. Cell phone video taken in the aftermath of the shooting shows victims lying on the ground, blood on the pavement and others bending over to comfort them. (Houston Chronicle)
Details on who all were injured and a word from the city’s mayor all came about hours after the shooting.
At least three of the victims were seriously wounded. Of the rest, many were grazed and authorities said that overall most wounds were not life threatening. No deaths were reported. The victims included 10 men, seven women, a boy and a girl. The children, both 10 years old, were grazed and in good condition. Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged witnesses to come forward with information during a news conference Sunday night at a hospital where gunshot victims were taken. “These kinds of incidents will not go unanswered. Somebody knows something. The way to stop this violence is for you all to help,” he said. (Houston Chronicle)
Despite its seriousness, the shooting reportedly has no connection to any possible terrorist plot.
Mary Beth Romig, a spokeswoman for the FBI in New Orleans, said federal investigators have no indication that the shooting was an act of terrorism. “It’s strictly an act of street violence in New Orleans,” she said. As many as 400 people came out for the second-line procession — a boisterous New Orleans tradition — though only half that many were in the immediate vicinity of the shooting, said Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas. Officers were interspersed with the marchers, which is routine for such events. Police saw three suspects running from the scene. No arrests had been made as of early evening. (Washington Post)
Information on the area where the crime took place has also surfaced.
The neighborhood where the shooting happened is a mix of low-income and middle-class row houses, some boarded up. As of last year, the 7th Ward’s population was about 60 percent of its pre-Hurricane Katrina level. The crime scene was about 1.5 miles from the heart of the French Quarter and near the Treme neighborhood, which has been the centerpiece for the HBO TV series “Treme.” Sunday’s violence comes at a time when the city is struggling to pay for tens of millions of dollars required under a federal consent decree to reform the police department and the city jail. (Washington Post)
