Neighbors Say Quintuple Shooting on MLK Blvd. Is ‘Embarrassing’

Five teenagers were shot in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans shortly after Monday’s Martin Luther King Day parade moved passed the area.

Police spent the afternoon collecting evidence and shell casings outside a grocery at Martin Luther King and LaSalle.

Investigators say shortly after 1 p.m., a late model, white, two-door sedan drove past the store, and a gunman opened fire on a group teenagers standing on the corner in front of the store.

“So far we know of five injuries,” said NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas. “We do not expect that any of those injuries are fatal at this time.”

The shooting is more than a little unsettling for neighbors who witnessed the crime. Many of them were still outside enjoying the day after watching the parade which passed by within a half hour of the shooting.

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The significance of this shooting on Martin Luther King Day on Martin Luther King Boulevard is not lost on people who live in this Central City neighborhood.

“I just think that’s so sad for them to be doing that, shooting and killing on Martin Luther King Day,” said [Tanile] Legendre. “It’s embarrassing to the community.”

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