Police: 4 injured in shooting on Bourbon Street

NEW ORLEANS — Four people were injured by gunfire on New Orleans' famous Bourbon Street as a costumed crowd celebrating the countdown to Mardi Gras sent people fleeing, police and bystanders said.

Four shots were fired in succession on Saturday night, followed by screaming, according to a video taken by a bystander and released by police. Authorities said an argument between some people in the crowd preceded the shooting. No arrests have been reported and police said they were looking for three men who fled.

Among the injured was a male victim who was taking cover and was shot in the abdomen, thigh and pelvis, as well as another male and two female victims, said New Orleans police spokesman Frank B. Robertson. His statement said the others were also hit by gunfire: a man in the buttocks, a woman in the chin and right foot, and another female victim in the toe.

Police said late Saturday that the most seriously injured man was in critical condition and was undergoing surgery, while the others were stable. None of the injured were identified by age or name.

The shooting occurred on the last party weekend before Mardi Gras, the most important tourist event of the year in New Orleans.

New Orleans has been plagued by violent crime for years, with gun violence rising rapidly since the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The footage taken by passersby showed many people in costumes on the street before the shooting, some of whom apparently had no idea what was happening.

According to police, an argument initially broke out between two men and the male victim, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds. According to police, after an initial argument, the two suspects briefly retreated, then one of them returned with a third man and a shootout ensued before they fled.

Authorities described the three as “offenders” and said one appeared to be about 18 to 22 years old, another about 20 to 25 and a third a man with a heavy build and a beard.

Patrick Clay, 21, a student at Louisiana State University, told the Times-Picayune that he was standing on the corner of Bourbon Street when he suddenly saw a crowd of people running and people screaming that there had been a shooting.

“Everyone immediately started running and the police immediately started running to where the people were coming from,” Clay said. “I was with a group of about seven people and at that point we all held hands and made our way through the crowd as quickly as we could.”

Some bartenders and revelers said the block of Bourbon Street where the shooting occurred was closed to crowds for a time while investigators investigated. But hours later, that stretch of Bourbon Street was back in full force with partying.

Julia Rosenthal, a 19-year-old visitor from Westchester, NY, had mixed emotions as she hung out in the French Quarter after the shooting. “This is not OK, what happened, and it's definitely scary. But I'm not going to let it spoil my evening,” she told AP.

Peter Manabani, an employee at the Rat's Hole bar, said police closed an entire block of Bourbon Street for an hour to investigate but later allowed people to return to the area.

A few hours later on Sunday, there was little evidence that a shooting had occurred. Revelers were in full party mood and filled the block despite a heavy police presence.

Laura Gonzalez, 21, of Baytown, Texas, said it was her first Mardi Gras and she spent some time at the nearby Fat Catz Bar while police investigated. She said the bar quickly locked its doors after the shooting and did not let anyone in or out while police went to the scene.

When asked if it was scary, she replied, “Not really. We were just locked in a bar and we weren't going to let that one incident ruin our party.”

There were parades all day Saturday, but none on Bourbon Street because the streets are too narrow. One of the largest Mardi Gras parades, the Krewe of Endymion, took place a few hours before the shooting on a major thoroughfare, just skirting Bourbon Street. Normally, partygoers head to the French Quarter after the parades.