A gunman opened fire at a parade in New Orleans Sunday night, killing one and injuring four before being arrested by police.
According to NOPD News, police in the area heard shots fired around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. After arriving, they found five victims – three males and two females – wounded by gunfire. One of the female victims is a juvenile.
All five victims were taken to a hospital, where one of the male victims was pronounced dead. The other four victims remain in stable condition, USA Today reports.
The suspect, who remains unidentified, was taken into custody. Police also recovered two weapons.
“We were quickly able to apprehend the suspect we believe responsible for this,” Chief Deputy Hans Ganthier said.
“This is really not something we wanted to see,” he added. “We really wanted this to be a safe Mardi Gras.”
One New Orleans resident, Camryn Lafleur, 19, had been watching the parade when “gunshots were fired across the street,” setting off a stampede.
“I couldn’t see, but I was hearing them,” Lafleur told ABC News of the gunshots. “It was a continuous loud noise that kept going off. And when I saw people coming from the other side, running across the street, like, in front of the float to us, and I saw their faces with pure horror, that’s when I realized something’s not right. This must be a shooting.”
“It didn’t use to be like this,” she added. “It didn’t use to be this dangerous in the city at all.”
Kristie Bowerman, 49, said she and her husband were watching the parade and took cover after the gunshots rang out. At the time, she told another couple who assumed the shots were fireworks to take shelter.
She recalled seeing “people sobbing everywhere” following the shooting.
“Some people were injured,” she told ABC News. “I think a lot of people were in shock, and I think a lot of people were scared.”
The incident remains under investigation, including whether other suspects were involved.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Douglas Sacha
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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