New Orleans gunfire kills 1, hurts 9

NEW ORLEANS — Police had already increased patrols in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter before gunfire erupted early Sunday, leaving one man dead and nine others wounded in a tourist district famed for its bars, bright lights and live music.

Extra uniformed and plainclothes officers were on duty and ambulance crews were on standby for what Mayor Mitch Landrieu said was supposed to be a festive time with college and pro football games in the city and people vacationing over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said officers responded about 1:30 a.m. Sunday to the shooting at the intersection of Iberville and Bourbon streets.

Harrison said none of the victims was an intended target when two men began arguing and shooting. Investigators continued searching Sunday for the suspects, who fled on foot.

“We will find them. And we will go to the ends of the earth to make sure that we bring them to justice,” Landrieu said.

The shooting victims were two women and eight men, ranging in age from 20 to 37. One of the men — 25-year-old Demontris Toliver — died at a hospital.

Five of the victims were released from a hospital by Sunday night, and four remained hospitalized with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the police superintendent said.

Glean Williams, who was selling hats a block away from the shooting, told the Times-Picayune that people ran into doorways and hotels.

“It was panic,” said Williams, 24. “Everybody started running. People getting run over, stepped on, knocked over.”