Gun violence during New Orleans' Krewe of Bacchus parade leaves five injured, suspect in custody
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: A gunman opened fire during the Krewe of Bacchus parade in New Orleans leaving one person dead and four others injured. The shooting took place on Sunday, February 19, in the 1600 block of Terpsichore near its intersection with St. Charles Avenue.
A young girl, a woman, and three men, all of whom were taken to the hospital, were among the victims of the gun violence, according to the NOPD. One of the male victims was later identified as dead. One person was detained on the scene. "We were quickly able to apprehend the suspect we believe responsible for this," Police Chief Deputy Hans Ganthier stated.
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'Police urge public for information'
Two guns were found, according to Police Chief Deputy Hans Ganthier. He urged everyone who was present and might have information to contact Crimestoppers at 822-1111 because he is unsure if there were any additional people involved, as reported by WWL-TV. "This is really not something we wanted to see," stated Ganthier. "We really wanted this to be a safe Mardi Gras."
#BREAKING @NOPDNews have a perimeter set up at St. Charles and Terpsichore St.
— Jonah Gilmore (@JonahMGilmore) February 20, 2023
Bacchus has come to a stop.
First responders are currently attending to a female on the ground. pic.twitter.com/1pKLtrLXyC
'It’s unfortunate'
At least a dozen shots were fired, an eyewitness stated to WWL-TV, and people were scrambling to get out of the way while abandoning everything they owned. He claimed that just before the shooting, police broke up a series of altercations in the same place. Andrew Crawford, a different witness, claimed that while he and his family were at the parade, they all had to leave and run. "I don’t want to see this happen again during Mardi Gras, you know small children and families. It’s unfortunate. You want to protect the ones you love. It is what it is. It sucks", they said. Following the shooting, the Super-krewe of Bacchus was momentarily put on hold on the 1500 block of St. Charles Avenue.
What is Krewe of Bacchus?
Krewe of Bacchus is a New Orleans Mardi Gras super krewe. Early in 1968, the Krewe of Bacchus defied convention by organizing a Sunday night parade with larger and more extravagant floats than seen ever before in a carnival parade. So, breaking with 113 years of Carnival custom, they chose to have a national celebrity lead the parade. When Owen "Pip" Brennan Jr. founded Bacchus, he aimed to create the most cutting-edge Krewe of the Century.