By Danielle Silvia
Staff Writer
There was a casualty after 10 people were shot in New Orleans on Sunday, Nov. 27.
According to ABC News, the shooting happened in the French Quarter on Bourbon Street. Bourbon Street was especially crowded on Saturday night due to the Bayou Classic College football game, which had ended a few hours prior and a few miles from where the shooting took place, according to NBC News.
The cause of the shooting that occurred around 1:30 a.m. is unclear. According to NBC News, the most plausible theory is that an argument between two men in the street became so violent that it escalated into a shooting.
The victims of the shooting were two women and eight men, ranging from 20 to 37 years old. The one fatality, 25-year-old Demontris Toliver, was a resident of Lafayette, La. Toliver was an aspiring tattoo artist who lived a “promising life,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said, according to CNN.
The 40 police officers who responded to the shooting and tended to the victims were already in the area for the football game, NBC News reported.
“Shots rang out, we responded,” said Michael Harrison, Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. He did not know the cause of the shooting, according to NBC News.
The police officers are still working on tracking down the perpetrators, however, CNN reported that law enforcement has been making progress on who they believe is responsible for the event.
At the scene of the incident, police officers arrested two men for illegally carrying weapons, including firearms. Additionally, 11 people were arrested over the weekend in New Orleans for carrying illegal items like guns.
According to CNN, Harrison said despite the shooting, police officers in the area were “vigilant and prepared” throughout the weekend.
Landrieu believes this shooting speaks to a larger issue throughout the country.
“Totally unacceptable. The violence continues to spin out of control with people brandishing weapons whenever they think they can. It’s really unfortunate,” Landrieu said, according to NBC News.
