Some type of personal feud is believed to have sparked the weekend shooting that left 10 people injured at the edge of New Orleans’ historic French Quarter, police chief Shaun Ferguson said Monday. “This is not a domestic terrorism act,” Ferguson told reporters. He said multiple tips indicated the feud leading to the early Sunday shooting involved people from outside New Orleans.
However, there was little other new information about the shooting from Monday’s news conference, where the Crimestoppers organization announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment.
The gunfire and mass panic broke out about 3:20 a.m. Sunday despite a heavy police presence. State and local police were out in force as thousands were visiting the tourism-dependent city over the long Thanksgiving weekend for the annual Bayou Classic football game between Grambling State University and Southern University.
Six city police officers and a supervisor were nearby when the shots rang out on a block of Canal Street, a broad thoroughfare of automobile and streetcar traffic running by hotels and restaurants.
Police and emergency workers responded quickly, assuring that the wounded were treated quickly, Ferguson said. But the shooter or shooters were quickly lost in the crowd and officers on the scene were unable to identify who fired. Some officers initially thought they might be targets, Ferguson said.
One weapon was recovered, he said.
One person was detained but was released after video showed he was uninvolved in the shooting.
Ten people were hospitalized after the shooting. Two had been considered in critical or guarded condition but were upgraded to stable as of Monday, Dr. Emily Nichols, the city medical director said. She said some victims had been discharged but she didn’t know the exact number.
One victim was 16 years old, Ferguson said. The others ranged in age from 21 to 36. He said police were working with Grambling and Southern to determine whether any students, faculty or staff were among the victims.