Two people died and four others were wounded in a shooting following a Mardi Gras celebration in the Mississippi Gulf Coast town of Pass Christian on Sunday, police said.
Officers were directing traffic in the area after the Mardi Gras parade when they heard gunshots, Pass Christian Police Chief Timothy Hendricks said in a statement.
“Don’t nobody know how to act in public. Everybody thinks that shooting is the way to solve stuff,” Robyn Chancey of nearby Gulfport told CNN affiliate WLOX. “I didn’t even go because I knew it was going to be something like that.”
Police identified the dead as Carlos Bates, 29, of Gulfport, and Isaiah Major, 43, of Pass Christian.
An investigation has been launched. No suspects have been named.
The Pass Christian parade is known as one of the rowdiest on the Gulf Coast, WLOX reported.
“It’s getting to the point you can’t enjoy Mardi Gras,” said Daikevia Whitfield. “You can’t enjoy the festivities with your family due to the senseless violence.”
New Orleans
Shots were also reported during a New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration, police said Sunday night.
The Bacchus parade was underway when gunfire was heard. A gun was recovered by police. No one was hurt, and no suspects have been identified, police said.
