Shooting incidents, some deadly, occurred in a number of states over the weekend as Americans celebrated the Christmas holidays.
In New Orleans, three men were injured during a shooting incident in the city's French Quarter. According to WVUE-TV in New Orleans, the shooting occurred on Christmas Eve morning near Toulouse and Dauphine Streets.
The New Orleans Police Department reportedly said that the incident was sparked by a fight between the men and officials are still searching for a possible suspect in the shooting, WVUE-TV reported.
Newsweek reached out to the New Orleans Police Department via email for updated information.
In Colorado, a fight at a mall in the city of Colorado Springs led to a deadly shooting on Christmas Eve.
"At 4:34 pm on Sunday, December 24, 2023, CSPD (Colorado Springs Police Department) received a call for service for shots fired at the Citadel Mall. Officers responded and determined that a fight had broken out between two groups of people. One adult male was found deceased in the mall from a gunshot wound," the CSPD said in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
In a series of posts on X, the CSPD said that two adult men involved in the shooting were transported to a nearby hospital "suffering from at least one gunshot wound each." A woman was also transported to a hospital with minor injuries.
"CSPD has multiple people detained and is working to determine their involvement," police said. "There is no known threat to the community at this time. The mall has been cleared and closed. If you have any information, please call CSPD at 719-444-7000, or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 719-634-7867 or 634-STO."
In an update provided to Newsweek, a spokesperson for the CSPD said that one of the male victims who was transported to a hospital in a critical condition has now been designated as stable.
"While this was a shooting that happened at a mall on Christmas eve, this was not an active shooter situation where someone had gone to the mall with the intent to shoot random people. This appears at this point to have been criminal behavior between two groups of people that happened to take place at the mall," the spokesperson told Newsweek.
In Florida, around 40 miles south of Gainesville, the Ocala Police Department (OPD) issued a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of 39-year-old Albert J. Shell Jr. in connection to a deadly shooting at the Paddox Mall in the city's southwestern suburbs.
"PLEASE SHARE! PADDOCK MALL MURDER SUSPECT: OPD has an arrest warrant for Albert J. Shell Jr., 39, for premeditated first-degree murder and attempted premeditated first-degree murder," police said on social media. "If you call OPD and tell us where he is and it leads to his arrest, we will pay you $5,000! Call 352-656-6137. Please, do not call that number for any other matter."
The OPD identified a victim in the shooting as 40-year-old David Nathaniel Barron. "We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and we are committed to bringing the perpetrator to justice," police said.
Newsweek has reached out to the OPD via email for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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