10 shot in early morning shooting near New Orleans' French Quarter
New Orleans — New Orleans police said 10 people were shot in an early morning shooting on the edge of the city's famed French Quarter. The victims were taken to local hospitals, and two people were listed in critical condition on Sunday afternoon. One of those victims was shot in the chest and the other in the torso.
Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said a person of interest has been detained, but that person is not being named as a suspect, according to CBS New Orleans affiliate WWL-TV.
"We had officers on that very block that thought they were being fired upon," Ferguson said. "Unfortunately, there were so many people out here we were unable to determine who was actually firing shots at the time."
Police said 10 people were taken to two hospitals and another walked in. Further details haven't been released.
The shooting took place on a busy commercial block of Canal Street that has streetcar tracks and is near many hotels during the busy Bayou Classic weekend. Ferguson said the streets were so crowded at the time of the shooting, patrolling officers couldn't see who had the gun. It's still unclear what led to the gunfire.
"We had officers right there within that very block that actually thought they were being fired upon and took a position to respond to this," Ferguson said.
No officers were hit, Ferguson said.
"This is still in the preliminary stages of the investigation. We do not know if this individual had any involvement in this incident as of right now," Ferguson said.
Police are gathering surveillance video and other evidence in the area that they hoped would lead to answers — and arrests.
There have been six shootings with more than 10 victims in New Orleans since 2013, according to WWL-TV. New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell said Sunday her administration will not "allow incidents like this to derail the progress we have made, or to further disrupt our community."