Less than a week after a gunfight erupted on Bourbon Street, killing one bystander and wounding nine others, authorities have arrested two men accused of opening fire in a crowd of revelers who had descended upon the French Quarter following the annual Bayou Classic football game.
The arrests, which followed an extensive manhunt, were hailed by city leaders after a shooting that drew national attention and renewed concerns about safety in the tourism heart of New Orleans.
Both gunmen are 20 years old and live in the Lafayette area. Jordan Clay was taken into custody late Thursday in Breaux Bridge, where he was still awaiting extradition Friday. He was to be booked on second-degree murder in the death of Demontris Toliver, the Baton Rouge tattoo artist who was killed in the shootout.
Hours after police announced Clay’s arrest, authorities took the second suspect, Kavon Manuel, into custody at a home in the Lafayette area. Authorities said Manuel will be booked on one count of second-degree murder and nine counts of attempted murder.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu, standing beside Toliver’s father at a news conference Friday morning at City Hall, called the shooting a “tragedy that will never be forgotten.” He told the victim’s father that he would “have a hole in your heart, as you know, for the rest of your life.”
