Officials remove a man from the scene following a shooting in New Orleans’ 9th Ward
Hundreds of people were gathered at a New Orleans playground for a music video shoot when two groups in the crowd opened fire on each other, wounding 16 people in the shocking Sunday evening (early yesterday, Macau time) violence, police said.
Police were on their way to break up a big crowd at Bunny Friend Playground when gunfire erupted at the park in the city’s 9th Ward, the police said in a statement Sunday.
Police said 10 people were taken to the hospital in ambulances while another six were taken in private vehicles. Photos of the scene showed emergency workers wheeling some of the wounded to ambulances on gurneys while other people who appeared to be in pain lay on the ground.
Investigators don’t know how serious the wounds are, or what started the shooting, police spokesman Tyler Gamble said. Large stadium lights lit up the park Sunday as police continued to work the crime scene. Witnesses told police that the gunmen ran off after the shooting was over.
The park was crowded with hundreds of people, the police said. Some had walked there after a neighborhood parade had finished earlier that evening and others were watching or taking part in the music video, Gamble said.
Gamble says the video was being made without a permit to use the park.
Police Superintendent Michael Harrison told WDSU-TV that the shooting might have been gang-related. Police had been helping with the parade that had been taking place about a block away from the park, and were able to quickly get to the park, Harrison told the TV station. AP
mayor wants witnesses to come forward
The mayor of New Orleans is calling on people who were in a park where a shootout erupted and wounded 16 people to come forward with information. Mayor Mitch Landrieu said late Sunday in comments aired by WWL-TV that people need to come forward with information so that police can do their job. Landrieu was speaking alongside police chief Michael Harrison at the park where the gunfire erupted earlier. Landrieu said the shooting is not something that can be tolerated in the city. No one was killed in the Sunday evening shooting that happened as hundreds of people had gathered at a local park. Police say two groups of people in the crowd opened fire on each other before running away. Janet McConnaughey, New Orleans
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