Mass shooting outside New Orleans nightclub leaves 1 dead, 11 injured

A mass shooting near a nightclub in New Orleans on Sunday night left one woman dead and 11 others injured, police and eyewitnesses said.

The incident took place shortly before midnight at the 800 block of South Peters Street in the city's Warehouse District, an address near the Republic NOLA nightclub, according to a press release from the New Orleans Police Department.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found a woman who had been fatally shot lying on the sidewalk, the release said.

While the victims have yet to be identified, police say five men and six women were injured.

An eyewitness inside Republic NOLA described the chaos to NBC News affiliate WDSU in New Orleans.

"When I heard the shots I ran to the bathroom and grabbed a couple people who were with me and kinda got low," the witness recalled. "We stayed until it got settled but nobody knew what was next or if there would be more shots. There was a lot of panic and a lot of chaos."

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, whose district includes most of New Orleans, offered solace to the victims and called for tighter gun laws.

"Last night’s mass shooting in New Orleans is a tragedy. It is heartbreaking to see gun violence devastate our city, our neighbors, and our loved ones. My prayers are with the victims and their loved ones," Carter said on X. "We urgently need common-sense gun reform measures and violence reduction programs in our community; too many lives have been lost."

Investigators are looking into identifying any possible suspects, as well as a motive.

The NOPD encourages anyone with information to reach out to Crimestoppers at 822-1111, toll-free 1-877-903-STOP (7867).