A shooting at a neighborhood Mother’s Day parade in New Orleans on Sunday has left 19 people injured—and police hunting for three suspects who were seen running from the scene. Here’s Reuters with the sad details from yesterday:
Ten men, seven woman, a girl and a boy both age 10 were hit when wild gunfire opened up at about 1:45 p.m. as the parade marched along North Villere Street, according to police spokesman Garry Flot. Two victims are undergoing surgery, Flot said in a statement. The children were grazed and are in good condition, he said. It was unclear if the victims were marching or bystanders watching the parade.
Though no arrests have been made at this time, the FBI has already ruled out terrorism, describing Sunday’s shooting as “strictly an act of street violence.” But it seems that a lot of the details are still missing. Police still don’t know why gunfire broke out at the parade in the first place, or whether the gunmen were aiming at someone in the crowd specifically or firing in a more random fashion.
New Orleans police this morning released video and pictures taken at the scene that may eventually help answer those questions. The rough surveillance video shows a crowd—rough estimates put the number of people near the scene at about 200—suddenly scattering as they appear to flee from a man who police believe is likely one of the shooters:
In a news conference, Mayor Mitch Landrieu called the shooting part of “the relentless drum beat of violence” on the streets of New Orleans, saying: “It’s a culture of violence that has enveloped the city for a long, long period of time.”
