Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

7 hurt when gunfire erupts at Louisiana nightclub

Image
AP Baton Rogue (US)
Last Updated : Jul 01 2019 | 3:15 AM IST

Police continued Sunday to investigate a shooting at a Baton Rouge nightclub that left seven people injured, even as officials in Louisiana's capital city pledged to do more to fight gun violence after several high-profile shootings.

Local news outlets report gunfire strafed the inside and parking lot of the Stadium Ultralounge & Bar early Saturday, apparently after a fight in which video footage showed one man breaking a bottle over another man's head.

At least two people were seriously wounded at the Stadium Ultralounge & Bar, although not all injuries may stem from gunshots, authorities said.

No arrests have been made and officials on Saturday urged people who might know something to contact them.

Macy Bell, 21, of Baton Rouge, was at the club when the shooting broke out. She told The Advocate that the fighting began when someone smashed a bottle over another person's head. Bell remembers the shooting went on for "about five minutes." The gunfire continued outside.

"They were shooting everywhere," Bell said.

More From This Section

"It was a whole war zone." Bell said she ran to the parking lot when the gunshots started and dove under a car, where she found three other women screaming and crying. When the gunshots stopped briefly, she said, she darted to her own car and fled.

As she ran, two other people rushed past her, claiming to have been shot. Videos shared on social media and since removed showed gunfire, shouting and chaos.

One video appeared to show a man in black shorts hitting another man over the head with a glass bottle. Then a different man in a blue shirt started shooting in the direction of the original attacker.

Once the shots rang out, bar patrons began yelling, "Go, go, go!" At least four gunshots could be heard on video.

A third video appeared to show another more gunfire outside as bar patrons scrambled to flee.

Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome urged residents to contact police with information and said city-parish officials would meet this week "to discuss more ways that we can work to put an end to gun violence, the public health crisis that is devastating our community."

Also Read

First Published: Jul 01 2019 | 3:15 AM IST

Next Story