New Orleans is no stranger to violent crime. Fortunately, on Sunday, the city was fortunate to escape disaster. During a Mother's Day parade, gunmen fired into a crowd in New Orleans' French Quarter and injured 19 people. Although, there were no fatalities, the perpetrators escaped the scene without being identified, while police remain unsure whether it was a targeted shooting or random gunfire. Despite the fact, that another public gathering was interrupted by violence in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, this could have been much worse.
Police vowed to track down the shooters and have issued a $10,000 reward on information leading to a capture.
Via NBC News:
A 10-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl were grazed by bullets but were in good condition, New Orleans Police spokesman Garry Flot said in a statement. A woman and a man were in surgery Sunday evening, but there were no fatalities and most wounds were not life threatening, police said.
At least three people were spotted running away from the scene after the shooting on North Villere Street in the 7th Ward neighborhood at 1:45 p.m. At least one suspect was described as a man between the ages of 18 and 22.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the shooting was part of "the relentless drum beat of violence" on the streets of New Orleans.
"It’s a shame and its got to stop," he told The Times-Picayune from outside New Orleans' Interim LSU Public Hospital. "You see it cascading across the country but we have more of it than anyone else."
