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Canal Street Shooting Of 10 Stemmed From Personal Feud, Police Say

New Orleans police chief Shaun Ferguson told reporters investigators believe the shooting of ten on Canal Street stemmed from a personal feud.
Jess Clark
/
WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio
New Orleans police chief Shaun Ferguson told reporters investigators believe the shooting of ten on Canal Street stemmed from a personal feud.

New Orleans police still haven't made an arrest in the shooting of ten people on Canal Street in the French Quarter early Sunday morning. Previous reports put the number of victims at 11, but police lowered the number Monday to ten.

"We will be holding these individuals accountable, and they will not be free to walk these streets," New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson told reporters during a press conference Monday.

Ferguson said so far investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a "feud between individuals who are not from the New Orleans area." 

"This is not a domestic terrorism act," Ferguson said, adding that the NOPD has received several tips that support intelligence suggesting the shooting stemmed from a "personal beef."

"These individuals had no regards -- absolutely none -- for the innocent bystanders that were out enjoying the Bayou Classic weekend festivities," Ferguson said.

He said investigators believe there was at least one shooter, and that those involved were from Louisiana, but not New Orleans. Police detained one person in the immediate aftermath, but released the person after determining through video evidence that the person had no involvement in the incident.

Police say all 10 people who were shot were in stable condition Monday, including one who was taken to emergency surgery the night of the shooting. The victims include five men, five women, and range in age from 16 to 36. 

"We are looking into this to determine if any of the ten victims were a part of this," Ferguson said. He said police recovered one firearm from the scene, and said investigators are still trying to find more video footage. 

Ferguson said the shooting occurred despite the police department's decision to step up staffing for the Bayou Classic football game, which brings thousands to the city for the annual football game between Grambling State University and Southern University. Ferguson said there were six police officers and their supervisor on the 700 block of Canal Street alone.

"These individuals still boldly, brazenly, and also cowardly, decided to fire their weapons," Ferguson said.

But, Ferguson said despite the violent weekend, New Orleans' homicide rate is the lowest it's been in nearly three decades. 

"This incident does not determine or classify who we are as a city," Ferguson said. "We will continue to fight to make our city one of the safest cities in the country. We refuse to let these individuals come to our city and carry out a fight, and get away with it on our streets."

While the city's homicide rate has fallen since the 1970s, New Orleans still has one of the highest murder rates in the country. 

There were two other shootings in addition to the Canal Street incident over the weekend. Two people were killed and two were injured in a shooting in the 2000 block of North Dorgenois Street Sunday afternoon. There was a third shooting of a man in the 1300 block of St. Bernard Avenue on Sunday around 4 p.m.

Anyone with information can call anonymously to Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP. A reward of up to $10,000 is available for information leading to an arrest in this investigation.

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