NEW ORLEANS - Eleven people have been shot in New Orleans leaving two in critical condition early Sunday morning. The shooting happened between 3:20 am to 3:25 am US time in the 700 block of Canal Street in New Orleans, according to New Orleans Police. Officers who were already in place for the Bayou Classic football game responded immediately to the shooting after initially thinking they were being fired upon. The victims were taken to local area hospitals with five going to University Hospital and the other five going to Tulane Hospital. The last person was a walk-in patient. The two people who are in critical condition suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and a gunshot wound to the torso, respectively.
New Orleans Police confirmed that they were within feet of the shooting but there were so many people around that it was hard to determine who was firing shots. They managed to detain an individual but it is unclear if that person had any involvement with the shooting. Authorities were actively investigating the shooting and were gathering witness statements and surveillance footage. The victim’s identities, ages and genders have not yet been disclosed and New Orleans Police said that it was not known how or why the shooting began. No officers were injured in the shooting.