Law enforcement in Washington Parish today called on the public to help find the suspect or suspects who shot thirteen people in Bogalusa Saturday night. Police say it happened at a memorial event for a man who had been murdered earlier this month, after more than 500 people gathered.
Major Wendel O'Berry with Bogalusa Police says the organizers bear some of the blame.
"To say that it was a bad decision would be a gross understatement," said O'Berry. "The people that did this should feel some sort of responsibility for endangering not only the lives of people with this virus going around and having an event like this, but then look what happens. You should be ashamed of yourselves, those people that did this."
Maj. O'Berry says despite rumors, officials did not sanction or issue a permit for this event.
"If anybody told you that a permit was issued, they lied to you," he said. "Under no circumstances, with the COVID-19 pandemic going on, would we have even have considered a permit."
Officers were called to the scene before the shooting, but Maj. O'Berry says their numbers were insufficient to break up a crowd that large.
"With five officers on the shift, and we did call one or two additional officers that were able to get out, but with that many officers versus a crowd of 500 and growing, there was no way to disperse that crowd."
Authorities say investigators recovered more than fifty shell casings of different caliber, suggesting there was more than one shooter.