NEW ORLEANS -- One person was killed and four others, including a three-month-old baby, were injured when shots rang out near the intersection of St. James and Felicity after 1 p.m. Monday.
Officials say three men -- a 20-year-old male, a 23-year-old male and 20-year-old male -- were the intended targets of the shooting.
Police said initially that one of the men is in critical condition, another man is in serious condition, and another is in stable condition after he was shot in the arm. Spokesman Marlon Defillo said one of the victims, the 20-year-old man, has died. He didn't elaborate on the identity of the deceased.
The other two victims, a 3-month-old baby and a 21-year-old woman, are in stable condition. Police say the baby was shot through the thigh, but they say the injuries to the woman and the baby are non-life threatening.
Police found a semi-automatic pistol at the scene that they believe belong to one of the victims.
Defillo said before the shooting, the three male victims were standing in the rear driveway when an older model 4-door Cadillac sedan slowly approached. Several unknown people began firing at the three males from inside the vehicle, wounding the 21-year-old female and 3-month old woman, who were walking to a nearby store at the intersection of Chippewa and Saint James Streets.
The NOPD has not identified the victims.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu was at the scene of the crime, and he said he jolted out of his seat after he learned of the shooting.
"You know a 3 month old that got shot, this is the kind of thing we have to bring attention to," Landrieu said. "And every one of them matters, but some of them rise to the level of complete nonsense."
People around the neighborhood were stunned and upset.
"This is just crazy out here man. They really need to stop because this baby got hit, and it's just bad. It's really bad," said Denard Alexander, a resident near the shooting.
According to police, it appears the three men who were targetted had lived in the River Gardens area and a lot of people saw the shooting take place. Police are canvassing the neighborhood in search of witnesses.
"It's another one of those senseless things that we've talked about so many times in the city of New Orleans. You can see just from spanning this crowd there are at least 100 people out here," Landrieu said. "So it's pretty clear there are witnesses. And as we said from the beginning, if we're going to get a handle on violent crime, we're really going to need the citizens to help us out. Tell us what you saw.
Alexander said without proper witness protection, the reluctance of people to come forward will remain a reality.
"You know how that goes. People really don't want to talk because they feel like their life is in danger. If they could get some protection, maybe people would start talking," Alexander said. "But other than that, nobody is not gonna say nothing, because they feel like their life is in danger too."
If you know anything about the shooting, call Crimestoppers at 822-1111.
