US sheriff: Three dead in gun store shooting

METAIRIE (Louisiana): A person entered a gun store and shooting range in a New Orleans suburb and fatally shot two people, prompting customers and staff to open fire on the shooter, a sheriff said. The shooter also died.

The shooting happened around 2.50pm on Saturday at the Jefferson Gun Outlet in the suburb of Metairie, according to a release from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said the shooter initially struck two people inside, and then several other people – whether employees or store customers – opened fire on the shooter, both inside and outside of the building. Outside the building a man could be seen afterward behind yellow police tape yelling “Where is my son?”

Guns and ammunition are sold in the front of the outlet that faces a main thoroughfare through Jefferson Parish. Customers who want to frequent the gun range generally go around to the side entrance of the building. Staff who work there often wear a sidearm.

Lopinto said two other people also were hit by gunfire and were hospitalised in stable condition. He said there were multiple shooters in all and investigators had just begun trying to piece together what had happened.

“We’re trying to put it all together,” the sheriff said during a short briefing with journalists.

None of the dead or wounded were immediately identified and details remained sketchy. Lopinto said that the investigation was continuing as authorities sought to determine exactly what occurred.

Caution tape surrounded the business to keep onlookers from getting close to the scene, where ambulances and numerous law enforcement vehicles had converged.

A neighbouring Taco Bell eatery had been evacuated.

Authorities remained at the scene as night fell. — AP