NEW ORLEANS – The NOPD arrested four teenagers last night after they shot two people who were standing by at the entrance to City Park with a paintball gun.
The two victims, a 41-year-old man and a nine-year-old girl, were struck by paintball pellets on May 14 around 8 p.m. while standing near a statue of Confederate general P.G.T. Beauregard that has been slated for removal.
The man was shot in the groin, and the girl was shot in the forearm and shoulder, according to the NOPD.
According to witnesses, the paintball pellets were fired from a dark-colored Jeep driving along North Carrollton Avenue.
The car driving behind the Jeep followed it to a parking lot on the corner of Duplessis and St. Denis Streets, where the witnesses flagged down patrolling police officers, according to the NOPD.
The officers found a paintball gun and accessories inside the Jeep, and arrested the four occupants of the vehicle – a 15-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy, 17-year-old Clarence McMiller, and 18-year-old Jadon Dawson.
The juveniles were booked into the Juvenile Justice Center on two counts of simple battery each, while McMiller and Dawson each face two counts of accessory to simple battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The victims suffered minor injuries from the paintball pellets, and refused treatment, according to the NOPD.