Superintendent Harrison on the Bourbon shooting @wdsu @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/MbpeHZKFH2
— megan k mackel (@nolacameragirl) November 27, 2016
Ten people were shot with one victim left dead following a shooting on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street. The incident occurred near the intersection of Iberville Street and one block from Canal Street according to NBC News. Reports indicate that the shooting started around 1:30 AM and police were quick to respond due to an increased presence following the Bayou Classic college football game. Superintendent Michael Harrison spoke to the media about the incident, as seen above according to NBC:
“Shots rang out, we responded,” he said, adding it was not clear what triggered the incident.
Ten victims aged between 20 and 37 were shot, including two women and eight men “one of whom has expired at the hospital,” Harrison said. “Our hearts go out to the deceased.”
Two arrests were made for illegal carrying of a firearm.
“One of victims was in possession of a firearm … another subject, who may or may not be affiliated with this event, was arrested for possession of a firearm,” Harrison told WDSU, adding to eight other arrests for the same offense in the space of 24 hours.
“This is the wrong place to bring firearms, we’ve made that clear,” he added. “We are going to pursue this to the fullest extent of the law.”
https://twitter.com/nolacameragirl/status/802798662871027712
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu was quoted by WDSU, saying that the shooting was senseless and promising to bring those behind it to justice:
“We’re going to pursue these individuals very, very aggressively,” Landrieu said. “Totally unacceptable. The violence continues to spin out of control with people brandishing weapons whenever they think they can. It’s really unfortunate.”
This isn’t the first time jaw-dropping violence has taken place in New Orleans on the weekend of the Bayou Classic. WDSU’s Travers Mackel noted that a similar incident too place on the same weekend in 2004, and The Times-Picayune noted that a similar incident occurred in 2014 in the same area, prompting the paper to reach out to a survivor of that shooting, Amy Matthews, in an attempt to provide a look at the human side of these sort of incidents. Matthews, who was shot “through her cheek and mouth that fractured her upper palate and destroyed all but 10 of her teeth” pointed to our national debate over gun laws, indicating she thinks that this will keep happening:
This is terrible news,” said Amy Matthews, the Australian tourist seriously wounded in the June 29, 2014, Bourbon Street gun battle that also left one dead and nine wounded.
“My thoughts are with the victims, their families and all the innocent people that this will also affect,” Matthews said when reached after the new shooting Sunday.