Five people including one young girl were tragically shot at a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans over the weekend. The five victims were rushed to hospital following the attack, with one being pronounced dead on site.
Following the deadly shooting on Sunday night, police cleared the area and arrested one person in connection with the incident.
Officers have since revealed that the mass shooting happened at around 9:30pm along the route of the Krewe of Bacchus parade, in New Orleans.
Police rushed to the scene after hearing the gunfire and found five victims that had been shot – three males and two females, one a young girl.
They were taken to hospital where one of the victims was pronounced dead while the others are said to be in stable condition, police said.
The force did, however, confirm that the young girl was in stable condition.
NOPD Chief Deputy Hans Ganthier told WWL-TV that two guns were recovered at the scene and officers were “were quickly able to apprehend the suspect we believe responsible for this”.
However, he noted that the force could not be certain whether there was another shooter involved as they continue to investigate.
He said: “This is really not something we wanted to see. We really wanted this to be a safe Mardi Gras.”
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He added: “However, we really, really want to get the public’s help and if there were other individuals involved, please call Crime Stoppers.”
Video footage from the route show debris and belongings left behind as many parade-goers fled the scene when shots rang out.
The parade was temporarily held up but then allowed to continue but with fewer people in attendance, WWL reported.
An eyewitness told the paper that there were at least 12 gunshots and people were trying to scramble to safety and get out of the area, leaving their belongings behind them.
The eyewitness said there were several fights that police had to break up before the shooting happened.
It is the latest in a series of mass shootings that have taken place across the country since the start of 2023.
Just seven weeks into the year and there have been a reported 79 mass shootings in the US, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
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