Mardi Gras is an annual celebration where the streets fill with people, music, costumes, and fun. For New Orleans, Mardi Gras is one of the proudest and most famous traditions in the city and it’s supposed to be about enjoyment, relaxation, and festivity.
Mardi Gras takes place on Tuesday, known as Pancake Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday. Whereas this year, before it even got into full swing, the event has been marred with violence after a shooting on Sunday during the Krewe of Bacchus parade.
What Happened?
According to police, the Bacchus parade was winding its way through New Orleans Sunday night around half-past-nine when shots rang out.
The shooting occurred in uptown, which is full of bars and people who stand and walk around to check out the parades and floats.
Witnesses on the scene described several dozen rounds firing rapidly, which caused the crowd to panic and make a run for it.
Police were nearby on Mardi Gras patrol duties and responded immediately to the crime scene where they found five individuals injured, including a small four-year-old girl.
Police also recovered two handguns at the scene believed to have been used in the shooting.
A shooting tragedy reportedly occurred in New Orleans ahead of Mardi Gras celebrations leaving one dead and four injured, seen Monday morning on "National Report." pic.twitter.com/ibOTv1Vfgq
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 20, 2023
Injured and Rushed to the Hospital
The injured were rushed to the hospital. Four of them survived, including the small girl, but tragically one teenage male died at the hospital of his injuries.
The other four victims have been reported as being in stable condition as of yesterday.
Police are not yet naming a motive in the assault, but have said they caught one suspect near the scene of the shooting. The two handguns were removed from the person of the suspect at that time.
The Bacchus parade would have been a nice start to the pre-Mardi Gras celebrations, but this shooting understandably has many people on edge.
Police say they are working hard to ensure no more violence occurs during Mardi Gras and have expressed frustration at what happened and how it is harming innocent people.
None of the victims have been named as of this writing.
One person has died and four others, including a 4-year-old girl, were injured during a shooting at a Mardi Gras parade Sunday night, New Orleans police said. https://t.co/dyPkCxDYut pic.twitter.com/F4xKYsq7NV
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) February 21, 2023
Digging Deeper
The suspect in this shooting is a young man named Mansour Mbodj, 21, who was arrested for having a firearm illegally.
The two handguns that were recovered are under further investigation, but police say at this point, they are doing further analysis of trajectory and ballistics to see where the shots were fired from and any intended targets.
According to police at this time, Mbodj may have had a conflict with someone else or others at the parade and decided to open fire on them in the middle of the crowd.
As the left tries its best to make this about the Second Amendment once again, the tragic truth is this is about crime and unstable, violent young men. Restricting guns won’t do anything to stop criminals and thugs from obtaining weapons.
We all know it.
