Shooting in New Orleans park leaves at least 16 people injured

News, US November 23, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

NEW ORLEANS (US) – A gunfight erupted between two groups on Sunday in a New Orleans park where hundreds of people were gathered, scattering the crowd and leaving 16 people wounded, police said.

Police said 10 people were taken to the hospital in ambulances while another six were taken in private vehicles.

“We know, by speaking with some of the victims, that there were two groups of people shooting at each other,” New Orleans Police Department spokesman Tyler Gamble said

New Orleans police Commander Chris Goodley, speaking in a video clip posted by the New Orleans Times-Picayune website, said the crowd at the park remained “orderly” after the shooting. “But we were trying to preserve the crime scene as best as we could and tend to the victims,” he added.

All 16 victims were in stable condition early Monday morning. Their injuries included bullet wounds and graze wounds.

“What we need more than anything else is for witnesses to come forward and tell us what they saw,” NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison added. “There were hundreds of people in this park looking at this incident and we know they saw what happened.”

Police were on their way to the park disperse the crowd — which had gathered without a permit —when the shootout began. So far, none of the gunmen have been apprehended.

People gather at the entrance to the park to yell comfort to victims after a mass shooting at New Orleans Park on Sunday evening, November 22, 2015. (Photo by Michael DeMocker/NOLA.com/TheTimes-Picayune)