Suspect arrested after shooting along Mardi Gras parade route leaves 1 dead, 4 others injured, New Orleans police say
(CNN) -- A suspect is in custody after one person was killed and four others -- including a 4-year-old girl -- were injured in a shooting Sunday night along a Mardi Gras parade route ahead of the city's raucous celebration this week, police said.
The deceased victim is a teenage boy between the ages of 15 and 18, New Orleans Police Interim Superintendent Michelle Woodfork said in a news conference Monday. The four other victims, among them an 18-year-old man, a 22-year-old woman and 24-year-old woman, were treated at hospitals and have been released.
The gunfire erupted around 9:30 p.m. along the route of the popular Krewe of Bacchus parade -- traditionally held in the run-up to the Mardi Gras celebration this Tuesday -- interrupting a quintessential New Orleans festivity and underscoring the continued prevalence of gun violence in all venues of American life.
New Orleans police and officers from other agencies were already in the area when they heard the gunshots, Woodfork said. "Within moments," they had apprehended a suspect and found two weapons at the scene, the superintendent said.
Woodfork identified the individual in custody as 21-year-old Mansour Mbodj, who was arrested for illegally carrying a weapon. It was not immediately clear if Mbodj had an attorney who would comment on his behalf.
"We can't say who fired a weapon, who was involved in the shooting at this time," Woodfork said, adding the shooting is under investigation by homicide detectives. "We have to wait til we get our ballistics results back to really be sure what guns were fired and then who may have been doing the shooting."
Woodfork described the shooting as an "isolated incident." Police are committed to making sure Mardi Gras is a safe, family friendly event, Woodfork said, noting police have recovered 112 guns near the parade routes.
Additional police are riding around the perimeters of the parades to ensure attendees' safety, she said, encouraging the public to inform police if they see someone with a weapon.
The US has suffered 80 mass shootings in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit that defines mass shootings as those in which four or more people were shot, not including the shooter.
