NEW ORLEANS — There’s anger and frustration from the organizer of a teen party that ended up being the site of a mass shooting in New Orleans East on Saturday night. And he is not alone.
On Monday, The NOPD added one more person to the number of people wounded in the mass shooting, bringing the total to nine victims.
One victim remains in critical condition. So far, there’s no word from police regarding a suspect or a motive in the mass shooting. We are getting new details about an event that was happening before the gunfire. O’Neal Bryant is the owner “Da Perfect Spot”, an event space near the 10100 block of the I-10 Service Road in New Orleans East.
Bryant says there were about 100 teenagers outside of his business Saturday night. He says he had security on duty and felt safe enough to have three of his daughters with him. They all ended up ducking for cover.
“It sounded like maybe an AK or Mac 10, something like that,” said O’Neal Bryant.
Before the gunfire and the chaos, Bryant went into Saturday excited. The teen party was supposed to be the first major event for his business. Bryant opened it in January. With COVID restrictions lifted, he finally was able to host a crowd. Bryant says he specifically chose New Orleans East for his business.
“I chose to bring it here because I know there’s nothing for the kids to do here,” said Bryant.
The party was supposed to run from 8 pm to midnight. Around 10:30 Saturday night, Bryant heard gunfire.
“I just grabbed my daughter. We hit the ground and I see the bullets just flying over my head. I ducked and grabbed her, and we hit the ground. She’s screaming for her sisters, like where are my sisters, where are my sisters? I finally got my other daughters and we got them inside,” said Bryant.
According to the NOPD, say the shooting wounded 9 people. one woman was shot in the face.
“There’s no regard for life, there’s no regard for people’s humanity,” said Austin Badon.
Badon is the Clerk of First City Court and lives near the area where the shooting took place. He says Saturday’s mass shooting is just one more example of a crime trend that is shattering the community’s sense of safety.
“This is not the problem of the police department. It’s not the problem of the school system. This directly falls upon the responsibility of the parents. It’s poor parenting.,” said Badon.
O’Neal Bryant doesn’t regret organizing an event intended to for teens, but he has a heavy heart that some people attending the party became victims.
“I just hope they find the guys that did this and bring them to justice because they need to be held accountable,” said Bryant.
While the party was supposed to be one for only teenagers, seven of the nine victims in the shooting were adults. Two were juveniles.