NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The ongoing Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans has been marred by a pair of shootings that left six people wounded.
Police said one shooting Saturday occurred along a major Mardi Gras parade route despite a major police presence, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Sunday.
Police investigators said the shooting, which resulted in five people being shot, was precipitated by a verbal altercation following the Endymion parade.
Investigators said it appeared the two teenage suspects in custody became embroiled in a verbal dispute, possibly with two of the shooting victims, directly before the gunfire began.
Three males in their late teens were injured, as were two women ages 22 and 24. All of the victims suffered non-life threatening injuries and were treated at a local hospital.
The Times-Picayune said another shooting Friday took place during the annual Krewe d'Etat parade with one man being shot in the arm.
