Thursday 3 July 2014

Man questioned in Bourbon St. shooting





  • 10 people were shot Sunday in the French Quarter

  • A woman who was wounded has died, police say

  • Police have questioned one person and are looking for another

  • The shooting happened in a popular tourist spot




(CNN) -- Police have questioned a man in connection with a shooting in New Orleans' French Quarter over the weekend.


Justin Odom was interviewed Wednesday by homicide detectives with his attorney present, New Orleans Police Officer Hilal Williams said.


The 20-year-old was arrested and booked on unrelated traffic and shoplifting charges by Gretna police. He remains in their custody.


Gretna is a town of nearly 18,000 people located just across the Mississippi River from New Orleans.


Police had requested the public's assistance in locating Odom and are still looking for another person in the case.


A 21-year-old woman has died of her wounds from the early Sunday morning shooting, New Orleans Police Officer Garry Flot said Wednesday.


"Our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with the family of Brittany Thomas," New Orleans Mayor Mitchell Landrieu said. "This type of tragedy strikes at the heart of who we are as a people and as a city."


The woman was among 10 people shot on Bourbon Street about 2:45 a.m. Sunday.


Three people remain hospitalized, all in stable condition, New Orleans Police public information officer Frank Robertson III said Wednesday.


New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas has said the shooting may have happened because of a heated exchange between two young men.





Police chief: I hope they are listening

The 700 block of Bourbon Street, where the shooting occurred, is a popular gathering place for tourists and revelers, where many of them pack bars and clubs between St. Peter and St. Ann streets. Crowds often spill into the streets.


Landrieu has called for additional resources from the federal government and the state of Louisiana to combat violence in the city.


He asked President Barack Obama to send a "targeted surge team" of federal law enforcement officers to help stem crime. He asked Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to assign 100 state police officers to the city and rededicate a penny from the hotel/motel tax from the convention center to the city for public safety.


"These kinds of incidents will not go unanswered," Landrieu said. "These perpetrators will be brought to justice."


CNN's Tina Burnside contributed to this report.



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