WGNO

Lifelong friend of Bourbon Street shooting victim reacts to his death

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Will Harrell first met Spencer Hudson in kindergarten. They remained friends until Hudson was killed by a stray bullet, according to police, while he was working on Bourbon Street early Sunday morning.

“We grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia,” Harrell told WGNO News during a Zoom interview.


“Spencer was our guide,” he recalled of his trips here to visit.

Harrell also says Hudson was the glue that kept a large group of friends connected, regardless of where life scattered them across the country.

“He kept up with everybody. He was the guy who knew who got married, who was having children,” Harrell said.

Hudson was also protective of all his friends when they would come to the city.

“He was that guy who would always help,” Harrell said. “He was so cognizant of his surroundings. He knew how to navigate the Quarter. He knew what was out there.”

Hudson was killed by a bullet early Sunday morning that was fired from Bourbon Street and continued inside the business where he was working. One woman was arrested at the scene and booked with manslaughter.

For more on the story, click on the video at the top of this page.