To make sure emergency responders are prepared for Mardi Gras season, they're going to have a full scale exercise this morning on the edge of the French Quarter.
It's a mass-casualty drill with simulated gunfire in Armstrong Park, and New Orleans Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness director Colin Arnold says it will be full-scale.
"Neighbors in Treme and in the French Quarter may see a large public safety response activity and hear some noises on Friday morning," said Arnold. "400 volunteers from around the city volunteered to be victims."
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell says it's not unfamiliar territory.
"We've experienced that, as you all know, a couple of years ago at the Endymion parade," the mayor said, referring to a 2017 incident where a drunk driver crashed into a crowd of onlookers in Mid City at Endymion. Emergency officials say that incident is one of the reasons they're holding this practice session.