NEW ORLEANS (AP) - New Orleans officials are quite sure someone knows the identities of the shooters who opened fire on each other in a crowd of hundreds of people during a block party - and they are urging them to come forward.
Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said the shootout that wounded 17 people Sunday night was probably gang-related. He said it's "highly possible" the shooting was related to the city's heroin trade but authorities are still investigating.
Sunday's shooting turned an evening of fun into a nightmare for the hundreds - possibly as many as 500 - who had gathered at the Bunny Friend Playground for what police described as a block party. A music video was also being filmed there. Police said neither event had a permit.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu told a news conference Monday that given the number of people at the playground, it's "pretty clear that people do know" who the shooters are.
"If you want to take back your community, you have to help us," said the mayor, who likened the shooting to domestic terrorism.
The shootout, combined with the recent shooting of a good Samaritan who tried to help a woman who was being dragged toward a vehicle, put a city that has long struggled with violence on edge.
"No one feels safe," said Peter Scharf, a Louisiana State University professor at the School of Public Health who studies crime.
Officers were nearby overseeing a neighborhood parade when they received reports of a large crowd at the playground. The shooting happened while they were on their way over to disperse the gathering. Two groups pulled out weapons and started firing, police said.
Local news media reported a mad scramble as terrified people ran from the playground, leaving behind cellphones and IDs. The shooters escaped.
Seventeen people were wounded, including 11 under the age of 21, authorities said Monday.
Damien Gaines said he, his two sons, ages 10 and 13, and their 10-year-old cousin had just come home from an athletic awards ceremony. He decided to go to the playground with the boys when he heard music. However, less than 10 minutes later, he said, an acquaintance he knew only as Peanut strode by, warning him to go home because of the shootout.
Then he heard gunfire - two to three minutes of continuous shooting.
He and the boys ran. Then his younger son said: ""Daddy, I'm shot, I'm shot.'" His blue jeans had turned red. Gaines put the boy on his back, picked up the cousin and ran home, where his older son had already arrived.
The wounded boy was treated at a hospital and released.