Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0
Three people were shot at Xavier University of Louisiana while a high school graduation ceremony was taking place. New Orleans Police Chief Deputy Superintendent Christopher Goodly told reporters that an argument between two women in a parking lot near the Convocation Center ended in gunfire.
An elderly woman was fatally shot, while two male victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Goodly would not say if the victims were related to any of the students who graduated from Morris Jeff High School.
Goodly said it is unclear if the women involved in the argument were responsible for firing the guns. Officials have detained three suspects for questioning but have not filed charges against any of them.
"I am outraged and saddened by the callousness shown today outside Xavier University," Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis Jr. said. "The graduating seniors of Morris Jeff were there to share in their collective achievements and bask in the brightness of their futures – only to have their optimism ripped apart by gun violence."
This is not the first time a high school graduation ceremony at the university was marred by violence. WVUE reported that a massive fight broke out during the George Washington Carver High School graduation ceremony on May 20. Videos captured the wild brawl in which people on the terrace level of the Convocation Center were seen throwing punches and chairs.