Police have been seeking help from the public in identifying two suspected shooters from an incident on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Sunday morning, June 28. A surveillance camera placed above a bar caught some of the incident. The footage, from 2:45 a.m., shows people chaotically running around in response to the shots. The police put the views of the gunmen online in hopes that someone may identify them. The victims were shot only two blocks from Jackson Square and around the corner from Pat O’Brien’s piano bar, according to People.
The shooting resulted in 10 injured people, nine were identified as victims following the shooting on Sunday. The 10th victim, aged 39, entered a police station on Sunday afternoon after he sustained a gunshot wound. Officers identified a minor injury on the man’s chest, yet he refused any medical attention. Information about these people has yet to be released, but it is reported that six of the victims are females and four are men with ages ranging from 17 to 39. One victim is in critical condition, four are stable and five were treated then released.
What spurred the shooting is still ambiguous. According to Los Angeles Times, New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal W. Serpas said, “Two young men, both armed with firearms,… chose to settle a dispute between themselves without care for anyone else.” There is still some speculation about whether or not the shooting was gang-related.
Serpas also discussed the upcoming Essence Festival, which is scheduled for this weekend. This event is known to have a large turnout, so police are preparing by putting more patrols in the French Quarter to assure the public of its safety.
“This Essence Festival, we’re using an overtime package of about $300,000 to make sure there’s more police officers in the French Quarter area,” Serpas said.
According to police reports, all of the victims were innocent bystanders that happened to get caught in the crossfire. In addition, some of the victims were even tourists.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu addressed the issue of safety in New Orleans, saying, “Our number-one priority is to keep New Orleans safe. These kinds of incidents will not go unanswered… I am confident that between video evidence and eyewitness accounts, we will bring the perpetrators to justice.”
This incident was the third major shooting on Bourbon Street in the past three years.
via twitter/Dave Minsky
Photo: via WWLTV.com
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