** UPDATE – On June 17, the New Orleans Police Department announced the arrest of 22-year-old Yasmeen Webb. Webb was arrested as an accessory to aggravated battery by shooting, for the incident in the plaza.
NEW ORLEANS – A woman was shot in the chest near a “defund NOPD” protest in Duncan Plaza this afternoon.
The shooting occurred at the intersection of Gravier Street and Loyola Avenue, according to the NOPD. The woman was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
She is currently in stable condition.
The Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition hosted a protest in Duncan Plaza starting at 12:30 p.m., drawing a large crowd of demonstrators.
The shooting occurred at the back of the protest, according to the NOPD. Investigators do not believe the shooting was connected to the protest.
The victim and the shooter are thought to have been acquainted, according to the NOPD.
NOPD officers briefly took one woman who police said was a witness into custody at the scene. The crowd of demonstrators swarmed on the officers, chanting “let her go.”
The woman who police detained inside a police vehicle, and was released by the NOPD a short time later. Protestors walked in the street and blocked police cruisers, according to the NOPD.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.