City Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said at least 12 people were shot during the parade in city's 7th Ward on Sunday.
None of the injuries are expected to be fatal.
Authorities saw three people running away from the scene after the shooting, and at least one suspect was described as a man between the age of 18 to 22.
The victims were part of the second line of people who were following a brass band during the Mother's Day celebrations.
"These are unusual circumstances. We have second lines which occur in the city of New Orleans virtually every weekend at this time of the year," Serpas said.
"We had a full complement of police officers. It appears that these 2 or 3 people just for a reason unknown to us, started shooting at towards, or in the crowd. It was over in just a couple seconds," he added.