3 dead, 7 injured in New Orleans shooting; killers on the loose

Three people are dead and another seven were injured in a hail of gunfire outside a jazz bar in New Orleans on Saturday night.

According to the New Orleans Police Department, 10 people were struck by bullets in the Central City neighborhood at about 8:35 p.m. local time. By the time officers arrived, three people were found on the location.

The two men and one woman were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The woman was shot multiple times in the back, according to the department's Twitter account.

Of the seven others injured, three were taken to area hospitals by ambulance and four went to the hospital on their own. Five men and two women were among those injured in the shooting.

"Through investigation, detectives determined that two unknown armed subjects believed to be wearing hooded sweatshirts allegedly approached a group of people standing outside of a business and opened fire, striking 10 of the individuals," New Orleans police said in a statement.

The two suspected shooters are still on the loose.

The shooting took place outside a strip mall with a Cricket wireless store, fried chicken restaurant, Money Mart financial services location and the Jazz Daiqauri's & Lounge jazz bar.

"There is no place in New Orleans for this kind of violence," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a statement. "I speak for everyone in our City when I say we are disgusted, we are infuriated, and we have had more than enough. Three more lives — gone. It has to end. This happened near my neighborhood, on the edge of Broadmoor. It’s unacceptable anywhere.

"We are grateful to those on the scene tonight: the NOPD, EMS, the chaplains and the social workers," she added. "We will dedicate every resource necessary to ending this horror and seeing justice done."

The shooting took place about three miles southwest of the French Quarter and Bourbon Street.

The New Orleans Advocate reported the shooting was being investigated as gang-related, and said other gang shootings have taken place in the area before.