NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans police department is looking into a report of a shooting on Interstate 10 at the Orleans exit. A 20-year-old woman told WWL-TV she was driving on I-10 coming from the east when she heard a strange noise.
“I heard very loud noises on my car at first I thought it was maybe rocks,” she said.”
The rocks turned out to be bullets. At least five bullets pierced her vehicles drivers side. She and the three other women inside were terrified.
“I drove to Canal Street got out of my car and saw all the damage,” she said. “I just burst into tears.”
When NOPD arrived on the scene she says they told her she was lucky to be alive.
“This couldn’t be real. I felt grateful that no one was injured,” she said.
In a statement, NOPD confirmed there was a “report for an aggravated criminal damage to property incident reported on January 10 on Interstate 10 West at the Orleans Avenue exit. Initial reports show a vehicle traveling on the interstate near the exit was allegedly struck by gunfire. No injuries were reported in the incident. Investigation into the incident remains open. No suspects have been identified or arrests made as of this writing. The report for the incident is not yet complete, so we are not able to provide any further information.”
The vehicle's owner told WWL-TV that police believe whoever shot her car may have mistaken her for someone else because of the popularity of her vehicle's make.
“They advised me to take off of my tint and to get a lighter tint or maybe a different car,” she said.
She’s hoping anyone who was on the interstate Tuesday night around 9pm who may have heard or saw anything comes forward.
“It was I guess a wakeup call,” she said. “I am from here, so I do run to the city for fun. This was definitely something new to me, but it does happen every day, so it could’ve been anybody or any other day, a random Tuesday.”
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