Two armed people walked up to a crowd gathered Saturday evening outside a strip mall in New Orleans and opened fire, killing three people and wounding seven more, reports the Associated Press. The shooting happened on a busy thoroughfare about three miles from the French Quarter. Police Chief Michael Harrison said the two suspects believed to be wearing hoodies had a rifle and a handgun. He said they appeared to have fired indiscriminately into the crowd, striking ten people. Before fleeing they took time to stand over one person. “We believe that they actually stood over one of the individuals and fired multiple rounds and then after that fled,” Harrison said.
Harrison spoke with family members and friends at the scene of the “volatile and tense situation.” He called on people to come forward and help police find the killers and also asked people not to take matters into their own hands. “This was an extremely tragic incident. A lot of people were out here tonight. A lot of people, we know, saw what happened, heard what happened. And we need more than anything for people to come forward to help … solve this case,” Harrison said. Investigators tied the shooting to gang violence, reports NOLA.com.