New Orleans Mother’s Day Shooting Suspect Arrested

Akein Scott, the suspect in the New Orleans Mother’s Day parade shooting, was arrested last night after a police dragnet and appeared in court his morning.

Scott, 19, was charged in court with 20 counts of attempted second degree murder. Bond was set at $10 million ($50,000 for each count). He was taken into custody in the Little Woods neighborhood of east New Orleans after a manhunt conducted by local and federal law enforcement officers. Police originally identified Scott as a suspect in the mass shooting through surveillance video of the event.

The suspect allegedly opened fire at about 2 pm last Sunday on Mother’s Day during the parade in New Orleans’ seventh ward, injuring about 20 people including two children out of the approximately 400 who attended the event. Fortunately there were no fatalities.

Scott was apparently identified as the alleged perpetrator by a bystander: “Prosecutors said a witness picked out a photo of Akein Scott, 19, from a lineup. An arrest affidavit said the unidentified witness told investigators that Scott was the person seen in a surveillance video that police released to the public as they searched for him for three days. The witness also said Scott was carrying a silver and black semi-automatic handgun at the shooting scene, according to the affidavit.”

Scott also appeared in court today on a prior pending felony charge of illegally carrying a weapon while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance for which he was out on a $15,000 bond. He was ordered held without bond on that case. He was actually due back in court today on that prior charge.

Police have not yet determined a motive for the Mother’s Day shooting or who might have been specifically the intended target of the attack.

The parade organizers have scheduled a re-do of the parade for June 1 along the same route.

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