Two journalists were shot and wounded during a shooting at a Mother’s Day parade in New Orleans on May 12, 2013, that left 19 people injured, according to news reports.
Cultural blogger and journalist Deborah Cotton was shot in the back and underwent surgery at a local hospital for the removal of one of her kidneys, according to news reports. Cotton covers the local brass band music community as well as traditional parades, known as “second lines,” under the nickname “Big Red Cotton” as a contributor to the New Orleans-based weekly newspaper The Gambit.
Mark Hertsgaard, the environment correspondent for the weekly magazine The Nation, was shot in the calf at the parade, news reports said. He told CPJ he was at the parade primarily as a bystander, but had started covering the event after the shooting occurred. He wrote about the experience for The Nation.
Two brothers, Akein and Shawn Scott, were arrested on May 15, 2013, as suspects in the shooting, and three other people were charged with harboring fugitives, according to news reports. Authorities said the shooting was related to local gang rivalries, and that one of the victims was the alleged target in the attack.