Stray bullet hits man in New Orleans hotel

Published 1:33 pm Thursday, January 31, 2008

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A stray bullet from a fight outside a downtown hotel struck a bystander inside the building, New Orleans police said.

Sgt. Joe Narcisse of the New Orleans Police Department said the gunfire broke out about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday outside the Holiday Inn Express on Carondelet Street in the central business district, less than two blocks from Canal Street, where a Mardi Gras parade had recently passed.

A bullet shattered a window in the hotel and struck a man inside, Narcisse said.

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The victim was not identified, but was from Metairie, La., a suburb of New Orleans, police spokeswoman Sabrina Richardson said on Thursday.

“He was not a tourist,” she said.

The man was hospitalized in stable condition, Richardson said.

At least two people began arguing outside the hotel, Richardson said.

“They were on opposite sides of the street, and one of them pulled out a gun and began firing,” she said.

No arrest had been made as of midday Thursdayd.