New Orleans' historic Bourbon Street exploded in violence and chaos early Sunday when a shooting rampage left one person dead and nine others injured and sent panicked partygoers racing through the streets of the French Quarter.
Several officers already on patrol in the French Quarter after the Bayou Classic, a football showdown between Grambling State University andSouthern University, quickly responded when gunshots rang out just before 1:30 a.m. CT, Chief Michael Harrison said during a news conference.
“We do not have the information about what precipitated the shooting right now, other than shots were fired,” Harrison said. Mayor Mitch Landrieu called the incident unacceptable, especially following a major city event.
"It's just a tragic end to what was otherwise a beautiful weekend," Landrieu said.
One man was pronounced dead at the hospital, Harrison said, adding that the other victims, seven men and two women, are listed in "varying conditions." They ranged in age from 20 to 37 years old, police said.
Police arrested two men, a shooting victim and a bystander, on firearm possession charges. Harrison said it was unclear who was involved in the shootings. Detectives were interviewing victims and witnesses and reviewing surveillance video footage from the area, he said.
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Ronnie Buendia, 25, a cashier at nearby parking garage, told The Times-Picayune he heard four shots. Then chaos ensued.
"Everybody was running into the garage trying to get away," he said.
Glean Williams, 24, told the paper he was selling hats at an outdoor table on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets when the shooting erupted.
"It was panic. Everybody started running," he said. "People getting run over, stepped on, knocked over."
Harrison, who said eight other firearm arrests were made over the past 24 hours in the French Quarter, expressed disappointment that people brought guns despite law enforcement's pleas to leave weapons at home.
"We’ve made a strong message that this was not the place or the time to bring firearms to the French Quarter during the Bayou Classic event or any event," Harrison said.
Landrieu said police did "everything they could be expected to do" to avoid violence, citing the gun arrests and heavy police presence in the area.
"It was a beautiful game. Everyone was working really well with each other throughout the whole city," he said. "It is so senseless."
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