According to police, one person was killed and two others were injured in the parking lot of Xavier University’s convocation center on Tuesday after a New Orleans high school graduation ceremony.
Shots were fired shortly before noon when the parking lot was full of graduating Morris Jeff Community School students and their families. According to WDSU, one of the victims of the shooting, who died in a hospital, was the grandmother of one of the graduates.
During a press conference, New Orleans Police Department deputy superintendent Christopher Goodly stated that the two injured men were taken to the hospital by New Orleans EMS with non-life-threatening injuries.
A fight broke out between two women in the parking lot shortly after the ceremony ended, just before multiple rounds rang out. Goodly confirmed the fight but did not specify if either of the two women involved was the shooter.
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Three people were detained for questioning, but no arrests were made, according to Goodly. Investigators also seized multiple weapons. “This unfortunate incident did not have to happen,” Goodly said, citing that both NOPD and Xavier’s police officers supplied security inside and outside the convocation center.

According to a press release, Morris Jeff Community School’s graduation ceremony was set to begin at 10 a.m. at the center. Mayor LaToya Cantrell was scheduled to speak, and nearly 90 graduates were expected to attend.
Each spring, Xavier University’s convocation center hosts several high school graduation ceremonies.