10 wounded in shooting near New Orleans’ French Quarter

NEW ORLEANS — Ten people were shot and wounded early Sunday near the French Quarter in New Orleans, a popular spot for tourists. Hours later in another part of town, another shooting killed t wo men and wounded two others.

Police said both shootings remain under investigation, and authorities did not immediately draw any connection between them.

Two of the 10 people shot on Canal Street near the French Quarter were in critical condition in local hospitals, Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said. No arrests were announced by midday Sunday, and police did not immediately release information about any of the victims.

“What happened in our city overnight was a cowardly and senseless act that we cannot and will not tolerate,” Ferguson said in a statement.

He said New Orleans has seen a significant reduction in violent crime over the past four years.

Ferguson told The New Orleans Advocate/ The Times-Picayune that a person of interest has been detained.

The first shootings happened about 3:20 a.m. on a busy commercial block of Canal Street that has streetcar tracks and is near many hotels.

Ferguson said police quickly responded to the scene as patrols were heightened for this weekend’s Bayou Classic, the annualThanksgivingweekend rivalry football game between Grambling State and Southern University at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell also pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice.