Oct. 23 (UPI) -- New Orleans police have charged a man for allegedly opening fire into a crowd that left three dead and seven injured.
Jamie Smith, 32, has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder and seven counts of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the July 28, 2018 shooting on South Claiborne Avenue, the New Orleans Police Department said in a statement Friday.
NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison told reporters a day after the incident that two suspects appeared to shoot into a "large crowd" in front of a daquiri shop and then fled the scene.
One of the suspects was armed with an assault rifle, and the second with two handguns, according to the latest police update.One person was "the intended target," and two others bystanders "sustained fatal gunshot wounds." The gunfire also struck seven additional bystanders.
Jeremiah Lee, 28, who was killed in the shooting, was the apparent target, the New Orleans Advocate and WWLTV.com reported. He was believed to be an affiliate of the 3NG street gang from Central City. Kurshaw Jackson, 38 and Taiesha Watkins, 27, were also fatally shot.
Police received a Crimestoppers tip that Smith was one of the two gunmen in the shooting.
Smith is currently incarcerated in Jefferson Parish on drug and weapons charges, police said.
"The investigation remains open and very active with several promising avenues of inquiry," according to the police statement.
"The detectives in the homicide unit are to be commended for their diligence and determination in gathering evidence to charge this individual with this terrible crime," NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said in the statement. "This is another example of how we don't stop until we bring individuals accused of violent acts to justice."
