NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Fifteen people were shot and at least two killed in a bloody wrap up of Halloween in New Orleans that included gunfire on Bourbon Street, the tourist hot spot in the French Quarter.
The shootings happened in four separate incidents around the city.
“We have made one arrest at this point,” police spokesman officer Garry Flot said Tuesday morning. He said none of the incidents were related.
Just after midnight early Tuesday, two men started shooting at each other on Bourbon Street — near the famous Chris Owens night club. No motive was known, but when the gunfire stopped a 25-year-old man was dead and seven others injured. Flot said the injuries were not life threatening.
That block of Bourbon Street is usually filled with tourist, drawn to the mixture of clubs, strip joints and stores selling T-shirts, beads and provocative lingerie.
The motive for the Bourbon Street shooting was unknown, Flot said.
Flot said the second shooting occurred about an hour later on Canal Street on the edge of the Quarter. One person was killed and three others were wounded in that shooting.
A 19-year-old man was killed and three others wounded after an argument led to gunfire.
Police arrested Baltiman Malcom, 24, moments after the shooting. Police heard the gunfire there and saw three men running from the scene. After a foot-chase, Malcom was arrested. He was booked with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder, Flot said.
Two other incidents left three people shot in other areas of the city. The victims’ conditions and the motives for the shootings were not immediately available.
Gun violence has soared in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Mayor Mitch Landrieu held a summit in September to ask the public to help bring it under control. Landrieu has pointed out that New Orleans’ per capita murder rate is much higher than comparable cities.
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By Mary Foster
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press._
