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Gunfire erupted inside a Louisiana night club early Sunday, wounding 12 people in a “targeted attack” and yet another U.S. mass shooting, authorities said.
The bloodshed at Dior Bar & Lounge in Baton Rouge unfolded at about 1:36 a.m. CT, police said, less than an hour after 10 people were gunned down at a Southern California dance hall about 1,800 miles west.
All 12 who were shot were taken to hospitals by ambulance or private cars, Baton Rouge Police Sgt. L’Jean McKneely Jr. said in a statement.
Lt. Bryan Ballard told reporters that nine of the victims will survive and that the three others suffered wounds that were “life-threatening in nature.”
A possible motive for the attack at 4619 Bennington Ave. wasn’t immediately disclosed.
“At this point we can say that it is believed to be targeted attack,” said Ballard, the commander of the Homicide Division. “No, this was not just a random act of someone showing up and randomly shooting citizens of Baton Rouge.”
Shannon Watts, the founder of the anti-gun violence group Moms Demand Action, said in statement to NBC News on Sunday: “These senseless, preventable shooting tragedies are emblematic of America’s ongoing gun violence crisis.
“We don’t have to live like this, and our loved ones should never die like this. We must demand our leaders lead and act at all levels to address our nation’s gun violence epidemic.”
Colin Sheeley contributed.
