A Mother's Day parade in the 7th Ward of New Orleans, La. turned from festive to horror when when a shooter opened fire on Sunday and left 19 people wounded, including two children, according to the Daily Mail.
Shocking new photos from the nightmarish scene were released recently, including video surveillance footage that police have recently released.
Just after 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, shots were fired into the crowd of people celebrating a Mother's Day parade in the 7th Ward neighborhood, a mix of low income and middle class row houses not far from the French Quarter. Cell phone video footage taken during the horrifying event shows victims lying wounded on the ground, "blood on the pavement and others bending over to comfort them."
The grainy footage shows a man in a white shirt and jeans opening fire on the crowd of people before running away, causing the crowd to scatter in all directions out of fear, "with some falling to the ground, in a scene of confusion and chaos."
Though it was not initially clear if certain people were targeted or if the shots were fired at random, police vowed to find the shooter.
"We'll find them," Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas told the Associated press. "We have good resources in this neighborhood."
Leonard Temple, who attended the parade, became teary-eyed as he waited outside of the hospital on Sunday and spoke about his friend who was in surgery after being shot three times during the parade.
"People were just hanging out. We were just chilling," Temple said. "Bad things always happen to good people."
He was told that his friend was shot while trying to push his own daughter out of the way.
Temple's friend was among 19 victims, including 10 men, several women and a boy and girl, both 10 years old. Luckily, the children were only "grazed" and in good condition.
Police taped off the scene in the late afternoon and placed bullet casing marks in at least 10 spots.
Mary Beth Romig, spokeswoman for the FBI in New Orleans, said federal investigators have no evidence that the tragic event was an act of terrorism.
"It's strictly an act of street violence in New Orleans," she said.
In recent years, shootings at parades and neighborhood celebrations have sadly become more common as the city of New Orleans has been struggling with recent crime. Four people were shot earlier this year following an argument in the French Quarter during the final weekend of partying before Mardi Gras. They survived, and several suspects were eventually arrested.
People are hoping to put an end to this case and find the shooter as quickly as possible.
