METAIRIE, La (AP) – A person entered a gun shop and shooting range in a New Orleans suburb and on Saturday fatally shot two people, asking customers and staff to open the shooter, a sheriff said. The shooter was also killed.
The shooting happened at about 2:50 p.m., at the Jefferson Gun Outlet in suburban Metairie, according to a release from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said the shooter initially struck two people inside, after which several other people, whether employees or store customers, opened fire on the shooter, inside and outside the building. Outside the building, a man could be seen behind a yellow police tape shouting: “Where is my son?”
Guns and ammunition are sold in front of the point of sale that stands by a highway through Jefferson Parish. Customers who want to visit the gun range usually go to the side entrance of the building. Staff working there often carry a side weapon.
According to Lopinto, two other people were also hit by gunfire and were hospitalized in a stable condition. He said there were several shooters.
“We are trying to put it all together,” the sheriff said during a brief briefing with journalists.
None of the dead or wounded were immediately identified and the details were unclear.
Tyrone Russell and Wanetta Joseph were both in a hide-and-seek course at the store when they heard what they both described as quick shooting. They said the gunfire sounded much louder than the usual muffled shooting they are used to hearing inside the shooting range.
“We heard gunshots and screams,” Russell said. “When the police arrived, they escorted us. I could see glass everywhere … It was just like a scary scene. ‘
“It got extremely hard, almost like a bomb,” said Joseph, who was hiding under a table with other students, not knowing if there were multiple shooters or if one was near the classroom. One instructor stayed with the students while two others left the room and watched the sound of gunfire.
Russell said that when he was led out, he could see a guy in the parking lot, not far from his car, being hit by bullets. He described seeing broken glass and bullet casings strewn across the store.
Caution band surrounded the business to prevent spectators from getting close to the scene, where ambulances and numerous law enforcement vehicles lined up. An adjoining Taco Bell eatery has been evacuated.
Authorities remained at the scene as night fell.
Metairie is a major suburb of New Orleans, about 5 miles west of the city’s iconic French Quarter, in the adjacent jurisdiction of Jefferson Parish.
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This story has been updated to correct the name of the store in the Jefferson Gun Outlet.