NEW ORLEANS – Two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade and celebration route attended by thousands of people Sunday, authorities said. There were no immediate arrests.

Officers who responded to reports of gunfire shortly after 3:30 p.m. on a boulevard in the St. City detectives found eight victims with gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the New Orleans Police Department. All eight were taken to hospitals in unknown condition. Later, police said a new injured person arrived at a hospital in a private car.

About 45 minutes later, police received another report of gunfire as revelers crossed the Almonaster Avenue Bridge, just over half a mile (0.8 km) to the north. One person died at the scene and another died at the hospital, police said. A third victim was taken to hospital in a private vehicle and is in stable condition, police said.

No arrests have been announced and no suspect information has been released. The neighborhood of St. Roch is outside the city’s French Quarter, which is popular with tourists, located a few blocks northeast of the neighborhood.

The Almonaster Bridge was closed in both directions during the investigation.

Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said detectives did not immediately know if the incidents were related.

“There were … different kinds of approaches,” she said of the shootings, which took place in the area where a “second line,” a celebration after a parade, was taking place.

Thousands turned out for the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club’s annual outing in the 9th Ward, said organizer Oscar Brown. NOLA.com.

“It’s a great event and we want to keep it a great event,” Kirkpatrick said.

It was the second major shooting in the South since then gunfire marred a homecoming weekend at Tuskegee University in Alabama on Nov. 10, one person died and 16 others were injured, including a dozen by gunfire, authorities said.

Copyright 2024 NPR