Four people were killed and seven others were injured in a shooting at an Independence Day celebration in Shreveport, Louisiana, Tuesday night, authorities said.
Officers responded to a call of shots fired just before midnight during a rally in the northwest part of town, Sgt. Angie Willhite of the Shreveport Police said Wednesday. At least one gunman opened fire on a gathering of about 100 people, she said.
The initial death count was three people overnight, with two people who were pronounced dead at the scene and a third who later died in hospital, but police discovered another body in a nearby field on Wednesday morning, they said. said Sergeant Willhite. All four were adults.
The reason for the shooting was not immediately clear and no arrests were made. Sergeant Willhite said police found « some shotgun shells at the scene » but it was unclear whether the shells came from the same gun.
Sergeant Willhite said the neighborhood is within the Shreveport city limits, but is in an area known as « the country town, » where horse pastures are interspersed with apartment complexes and large clearings or lots. open. He described it as a place with « lots of horse riding, lots of family, always lots of meetings ».
The party was advertised via posters around the neighborhood, he said. When police arrived, Sergeant Willhite said, officers had difficulty navigating the streets due to the crowds and had to abandon their cars to walk to the wounded. One of the injured victims was in « extremely critical condition, » he said, and six others had non-life-threatening injuries.
Sergeant Willhite said detectives were still interviewing people who attended the party.
« There was a large crowd, so we know someone has information, » he said. « It’s been challenging so far. »
The shooting punctuated a long and violent holiday weekend in the United States.
In Southwest Philadelphia on Monday night, someone dressed in a balaclava and a bulletproof vest opened fire on a street, killing five people and wounding two others. Hours later, three people were killed and eight others were injured in Fort Worth, where several men fired into the crowd.
There were more shootings over the weekend, including in Lansing, Mich.AND Wichita, Kan., where multiple people opened fire at a nightclub on Sunday, injuring 11 people. In Baltimore, two people were killed and 28 others injured during a block party on Sunday.
