19 wounded in New Orleans Mother's Day parade shooting

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nineteen people have been wounded in a shooting at a Mother's Day parade in the U.S. city of New Orleans, police say.

According to BBC News, the victims included two children who were grazed by bullets. Police say most injuries are not life-threatening.

It is unclear what sparked the shooting in the city's 7th Ward on Sunday, May 12 afternoon. Police say three suspects were seen fleeing the area

"Shots were fired with different guns," a police statement said. "Immediately after the shooting our officers saw three suspects running from the scene."

The statement said 10 men, seven women, a 10-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were wounded by gunfire.

The shooting happened at what is known as a second-line parade - an impromptu community procession in which people dance down the street behind the official parade. About 200 people were in the area at the time.

"It appears that these two or three people, just for a reason unknown to us, started shooting at, towards, or in the crowd," Police Supt Ronal Serpas told reporters earlier. "It was over in just a couple of seconds."

New Orleans has a high rate of gun crime, the BBC says. The area where the shooting happened is a poor neighborhood that is still recovering from the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.