Shooting at Mardi Gras parade in Louisiana leaves six people injured | Louisiana

Six people, including a child, were shot during a carnival parade in Louisiana on Saturday, according to multiple reports, leading authorities to take one person into custody.

The mass shooting occurred near the courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana, during the town’s “Country Mardi Gras” event, according to the local news outlet. WBRZ reported. The local sheriff told the local news outlet that the parade was stopped immediately.

Authorities told the media that one person was in custody and that investigators were searching for a vehicle suspected of being used in the shooting.

The East Feliciana county sheriff’s office, which oversees Clinton, did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.

WBRZ reports that Louisiana state police have taken over the investigation. Streets near the courthouse were reportedly blocked by state troopers and officials with the sheriff’s office.

Clinton has a population of approximately 1,300 people. It is part of the metropolitan area surrounding Louisiana’s capital, Baton Rouge.

By the time the bloodshed in Clinton was reported on Saturday, there had been at least 24 mass shootings in the United States during the year, according to a nonpartisan organization. Gun Violence Archive.

The archive defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more victims are injured or killed.

Consistently high rates of mass shootings in the United States have led many to call on Congress to take more meaningful gun control measures. But over the years, Congress has been unwilling or unable to heed such calls.