Summary
East Feliciana Parish Sheriff Jeff Travis said gunfire erupted during a small-town parade in Clinton, Louisiana, leaving a 6-year-old and four other people wounded and sending people in the crowd fleeing for cover.
Travis said the shooting happened shortly after the midday start of the Mardi Gras in the Country Parade, a community event held about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Baton Rouge.
The sheriff said investigators were still trying to piece together what happened, why it happened and who was responsible, even with additional law enforcement on hand to help at the parade.
Travis said his office took three people in the area who had firearms into custody, but he said it was not immediately clear whether any of them were involved in the shooting.
Gov. Jeff Landry reacted to the shooting in a post on X, calling it “absolutely horrific and unacceptable” and urging people to pray for the victims.
Chief Criminal Deputy Bill Cox of the sheriff’s office told The Advocate that everyone was expected to survive, while details about the victims and their conditions were not immediately released.
The sheriff’s office asked residents to share any photos or video of the shooting or nearby areas with investigators.