Woman dead, 11 injured in late-night mass shooting near nightclub in New Orleans
One person died and 11 people were injured in a mass shooting in the Warehouse District late Sunday night, according to the New Orleans Police Department.
Police responded to a call at 11:56 p.m. in the 800 block of South Peters Street near the nightclub Republic NOLA, where officers found one woman shot to death and others with gunshot wounds. Five men and six women were injured in the shooting.
Some of the victims were transported to a local hospital by EMS, while others were brought to the hospital by private vehicles.
The woman who was shot to death was identified as 24-year-old Jazreel Aquilla Poleate, of Harvey, Monday afternoon.
Nick Thomas, the owner of the Republic, was reached by phone Monday morning.
“The only thing I can say at this time is that luckily all of the staff are safe and the incident was entirely outside,” Thomas said.
He declined to comment any further.
Hip-hop artist Anycia performed at the Republic the night of the shooting, according to Eventbrite, in what was billed as an 18-plus “French Quarter Fest After Party” running until 2 a.m.
Witnesses describe scene of New Orleans mass shooting
Kelsey Holt was staying in a nearby hotel when she was awakened by gunfire shortly after midnight. She reported hearing six or seven shots and mistook them at first for fireworks.
When Holt went to the window, she saw 30 or 40 people fleeing the Republic. Multiple people were running down the street while others leaned against the building.
“I saw people pouring out (of the club),” said Holt, who was in New Orleans from Nashville for one night as she prepared to take a cruise on Monday morning. “I feel awful for everyone involved.”
One woman was lying face down in the street as a small group of people surrounded her and rendered aid, Holt said. At least four bullet holes marred the club’s padlocked doors.
Bria Smith, who was at the Republic, attended Helen Cox High School with Poleate and described her as “a lovely, welcoming person who was always smiling.”
Smith had come to the Republic to celebrate her birthday. She was inside the club when she heard shots ring out and initially thought that they were part of the song.
She said the shooting started outside of the club and created a “chaotic scene.”
“I ran for the bathroom,” Smith said. “My thing is run, hide, fight. I was trying to keep myself the safest. I saw people with blood on their shoes and on their clothes. … Somebody was on the floor. You could hear people running.”
She said it’s been less than a year since she lost another close friend to gun violence: Ja’diamond Jones, who was gunned down outside of a Treme hookah lounge while celebrating her graduation in May 2023.
The violence makes her question her decision to stay in New Orleans
“I’m scared. Do I need to wear a bulletproof vest to come out here?” she asked.
‘Constant theme ... between fights and shootings’
A man who works nearby and asked to remain anonymous because he feared workplace retaliation said he was not surprised to hear about the shooting.
He said it was at least the third one in two years to happen in that block.
“It’s a constant theme there between fights and shootings,” he said. “It’s more of the same.”
Roughly two years ago, a drive-by shooting bloodied the block in the wee hours of Ash Wednesday. At around 2 a.m. on March 2, 2022, occupants of an SUV fired into a crowd standing in 800 block of South Peters Street, striking a 21-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man multiple times. Police had announced no arrests in connection with that shooting and had no updates as of Monday.
New Orleans last endured a shooting with this many victims in 2019, when a shootout on Canal Street wounded 10 bystanders as well as one of the shooters. In 2018, three people were killed and seven others were wounded during a mass shooting outside of the Jazz Daquiris Lounge on South Claiborne Avenue.
NOPD will be holding a press conference at its headquarters Monday at 4 p.m. to give new information on the mass shooting, as well as other recent high-profile crimes involving gun violence.
NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick will give updates on the April 7 shooting in Mid-City that killed a security guard and the Feb. 13 shooting on Royal Street that left three people injured.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other city officials will be in attendance.
Police did not immediately release more information. The investigation is ongoing.
