NEW ORLEANS — One man was killed and four others were injured - including a 4-year-old girl - when a gunman started shooting near the St. Charles Avenue Carnival parade route in New Orleans on Sunday.
The Krewe of Bacchus was close to the end when gunshots rang out near St. Charles Avenue and Terpsichore Street. New Orleans police say the shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. in front of the Hoshun restaurant, just steps from where a large crowd lined the street enjoying the Mardi Gras festivities.
The shooting injured a 4-year-old girl, two women who were 22 and 24 years of age, an 18-year-old man and an unidentified male somewhere between 15 and 18 years of age. All five victims were taken to a hospital where the unidentified male later died.
"We don't know what happened prior to that, but we did hear gunshots and our officers responded as well as other agencies very quickly. And we were able to find two weapons on scene and also apprehend what we believe to be the shooter," NOPD Deputy Chief Hans Ganthier said.
An eyewitness told WWL-TV that at least a dozen shots were fired and that people were falling all over themselves trying to get out of the way, leaving everything they had behind them. He said prior to the shooting, there was a set of skirmishes in the same area that officers broke up.
"Everyone ran. Everyone took cover. My whole family ducked. I kind of just hovered over my family, like the small children," Andrew Crawford said.
The Bacchus parade was temporarily halted in the 1500 block of St. Charles Avenue after the shooting. An officer said that the parade would resume to "get out of the way" of the crime scene but that they wouldn't throw anything while in that area.
"This is not something we wanted to see. We really wanted to be a safe Mardi Gras and we continue to work toward that end," Ganthier said.
The police department said they took a 21-year-old man named Mansour Mbodj into custody shortly after the incident.
Monday afternoon the police were able to secure a second-degree murder warrant for Mbodj.
They are not certain that he was the sole shooter on the parade route. They said two guns were recovered from the scene. The shooting remains under investigation.
The NOPD is asking anyone with information about the shooting to call Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111.
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