Grandmother Dead, 2 Injured, During Shooting At A High School Graduation In New Orleans

Three people were shot after a high school graduation ceremony on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, officials said. One of the victims, an elderly female, has died, New Orleans Police Department Chief Deputy Superintendent Christopher Goodly told reporters.

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The university was hosting a graduation ceremony for nearby Morris Jeff Community School on Tuesday.

The shooting took place around 11:45 a.m. when NOPD officers working a security detail responded to a call for shots fired in the parking lot of the Xavier University Convocation Center. When officers arrived, they found three gunshot victims -- two men and one elderly woman -- who were all taken to local hospitals. The elderly woman died at a hospital, the release said.

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The men will survive their wounds after they were shot in the shoulder and leg, respectively, police said. They were not immediately identified.

All three victims were there for graduation ceremonies before they were shot outside, police spokesman Gary Scheets said.

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"There was a fight that broke out between apparently two females," Goodly said. "Subsequent to this fight, subjects produced weapons, and shots were shot."

Three people have been taken into custody for questioning but no arrests have been made. Goodly described the shooting as a 'senseless act of violence', telling the outlet: "This unfortunate incident did not have to happen... Nobody has been arrested for this crime, at this point."

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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell spoke at the graduation ceremony, but left before the shooting occurred. Patricia Perkins, head of school for Morris Jeff, said in a statement, Tuesday should have been a day of celebration for seniors.

"Morris Jeff is a strong school community and we will unite to help each other heal," Perkins said. "Every day, we teach our children to solve their differences with their words and to be compassionate toward each other. Our graduates will make a difference in this world because they learn to see each other as equal human beings. This resolve is only stronger after today's violence."

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New Orleans Public Schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. said in a statement he was "outraged and saddened by the callousness" that took place Tuesday."The graduating seniors of Morris Jeff were there to share in their collective achievements and bask in the brightness of their futures, only to have their optimism ripped apart by gun violence," Lewis said. "All our children have a right to be safe and we must do all we can in our power to protect that right. My heart breaks for the families of the victims, and I implore us all to rally around them in their time of need."

“This is supposed to be a joyous occasion and it is very said for us to have to go through something like this. This is horrible,” an unnamed witness told the station. The university’s Convocation Center is used as the venue for a string of the city’s high school graduation ceremonies every year.

Two weeks earlier, four people were injured in a shooting outside a graduation ceremony at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.

The news arrives just days after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Texas. Last Tuesday, May 24, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire at the Uvalde school before being shot dead by law enforcement.

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As well as bringing America’s gun laws into question, local authorities have been criticised over their response to the massacre after it was revealed that there was a 40-minute gap between police arriving at the scene and the moment they entered the building.