Four Shot During Argument by Carter Brown

Four people were wounded by gunfire on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street as an argument broke out in the middle of a Mardi Gras costume party. Four shots were fired Saturday night, followed by screams, a video taken by a bystander and released by the police showed. The authorities said an argument involving some of those in the crowd led up to the shooting. No arrests were immediately reported and the police said they were seeking three men. Those wounded included a man who was shot in the abdomen, thigh and pelvis along with another man and two women, a spokesman for the New Orleans Police, Frank B. Robertson, said. His statement said the others were also hit by gunshots: the man in the buttocks, one woman on the chin and right foot and the other on a toe. The police had said late Saturday that the most severely wounded man was in critical condition and undergoing surgery while the others were stable. They did not give their names or ages. The shooting came on the last weekend of partying before Mardi Gras, the Fat Tuesday celebration that is the signature tourist event of the year in New Orleans. According to the article, New Orleans has had a notable increase in violence since hurricane Katrina back in 2005. I understand that people have arguments, especially when there are parties and I assume alcohol was probably involved, but when an argument arises, there is no need to pull a gun in a crowd and start a random shooting. That's how innocent people get hurt or even killed. We hear about this sort of thing on the news every day. It's just unfortunate. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/us/4-shot-on-bourbon-street-during-mardi-gras-countdown.html?_r=0