At least 12 people, three of which were in critical condition, were injured in a shooting at a nightclub in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, late on Sunday, local media report citing police.
According to Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul, the immediate response of three Baton Rouge police officers that were nearby when the shots were fired in the Dior Bar & Lounge prevented further injuries since they administered life-saving aid until emergency medical technicians arrived.
Louisiana police have not released any information on any potential suspects and the motive behind the shooting is under investigation although police have some leads, but Paul urged anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
Paul declined to comment about the ongoing investigation and on how many shooters opened fire or how many of the people shot were targeted but believes the early morning attack was targeted. Yet no arrests have been made.
Stressing that, based on the preliminary investigating efforts, this was not a random act of violence, Paul said they believe someone was specifically targeted and others were injured in that process.
The investigation, according to deputy chief Myron Daniels, is being conducted in partnership with the Alcohol, Beverage, and Control agency (ABC) – which oversees the regulation of businesses that serve alcohol – that will be investigating the security breach which enabled the shooter/s to bring guns inside the premises, past the event’s private security.
Meanwhile, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, who discussed the issue of crime during her last week’s meeting with mayors of other major US cities in Washington, DC, called the incident a senseless act of violence that will not go unchecked.
Striving to ensure there are no retaliations from this event, Broome pointed out that she has requested several community organizations reach out and provide victims and their families with necessary services and ongoing support to help.
Louisiana’s capital city has been plagued by gun violence with the last one, an early-morning shooting near Southern University’s campus in Baton Rouge in October, leaving nine people injured, although the homicides’ number in Baton Rouge decreased in 2022.
The latest shooting comes only a day after 10 people were killed in a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California.
Be the first to comment