14 DAY TRIAL // Five people were injured after the New Orleans Martin Luther King Day parade, on Monday, January 21.
The incident occurred in the Central City area, approximately half an hour after the parade had left the location.
“It's the state of affairs in our nation that young men do not heed the words of Martin Luther King Jr.,” NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas commented, according to Los Angeles Times.
Five teenagers were shot in a drive-by, at around 1 p.m. They were standing outside a grocery store, at the intersection of Martin Luther King drive and LaSalle, WWLTV reports. They have incurred non-life-threatening injuries and are set to recover.
“So far we know of five injuries. [...] We do not expect that any of those injuries are fatal at this time,” NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas states.
Crowds had gathered in the area to watch the parade. However, neighbors weren't able to identify the getaway vehicle's license plates.
“I just heard the gunshots, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. [...] I ran outside and a saw all the kids just scattering. It must have been just 15 minutes after the parade,” witness Tanile Legendre describes.
It appears that the incident was not connected to the parade passing. The car used in the shooting was a white Nissan or Pontiac sedan. The driver headed towards the Mississippi River afterwards.
“It's not the first time. [...] It's always something like that going on. It makes us scared and keep your children locked up inside,” resident Ashley Stewart tells reporters.
“Interesting, we saw the video and was watching the video and a police car passed in front of the store about a minute or less before the white vehicle came behind it and fired on these young men,” Superintendent Serpas adds.