Police shoot eight gunmen on New Orleans bridge, five dead

September 4, 2005

New Orleans police shot eight armed gunmen on the Danziger Bridge, according to a police statement, after contractors crossing the bridge came under fire. The police claim they shot at eight people carrying guns on the bridge. This comes as Mayor Robin Nagin began to turn the city over to state and federal control.

The fourteen contractors were en route to launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain in order to fix the break in the 17th Street Canal when, according to police, the gunmen opened fire on the group.

Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said police shot at eight people carrying guns, killing five or six. None of the contractors were killed.

However, according to foreign sources, the five killed were contractors for the Army.

In a unreleated incident, a civilian helicopter crashed near the Danziger Bridge. The two passengers on board escaped with only minor cuts and scrapes.

The Danziger Bridge spans a canal which connects Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.