METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan said his heart hurts for the kids who experienced the fear associated with the gunshots that interrupted his charity event on Tuesday.
What especially shook Jordan was when he said a couple of kids told him they wished they had their guns on them for protection.
"Heart hurts for a kid to feel like he needs to be strapped up or he needs to feel like he has to protect himself in a world where at 13, 14 years old, he should be worried about basketball," Jordan told media following the Saints practice in Metairie on Friday.
"You should be worried about homework," he continued. "You should be worried about getting A's and not worried about, you know, the outside world affecting your inside world."
The shooting happened in the 200 block of Chartres Street in the French Quarter, not far from Sneaker Politics where his annual God Iz Love Foundation sneaker giveback event took place.
During the event, shots went off outside and bullets pierced the front windows of the milkshake bar next door.
"This is the day and age that we live," Jordan said. "New Orleans has to change, to feel a little bit more safe for our next generation."
Jordan said the employees at Sneaker Politics rushed all the kids to the back of the store and locked the doors.
"They did a great job of ushering kids in," said Jordan. "They were able to corral people get everybody in the back and makes, you know, make sure count heads, do everything they need to do."
He said a couple of kids were traumatized.
After the police came out to investigate, Jordan was able to finish the event and even talked to the kids about what they experienced.
"It didn't dampen the mood," Jordan explained. "Once police showed up, everything came out. We were able to resume and sort of talk about it, which hopefully opens up good dialog on the drive home. But the next wave is in the future. These kids growing up now are really going to be the people who shift and hopefully change narratives of what New Orleans will be."
Jordan said this incident has inspired him to make sure he remains an active presence in this community, and he is also willing to start a gun violence initiative.
The New Orleans Police Department is still searching for suspects.