By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch
January 18, 2010, 5:29PM A suspect has been apprehended in the afternoon shooting of two teenagers found near the West Bank's Martin Luther King Jr. parade. About 2:15 p.m., parade goers heard gunshots near West Bank Expressway, between Ames Boulevard and Eiseman Avenue in Marrero, authorities said. Jefferson Parish sheriff's officials subsequently found a 14-year-old boy shot in the leg and a 19-year-old man shot in both the leg and an unspecified part of his body, at 523 Ames Blvd., a couple blocks from the expressway. University Hospital physicians are treating the two men, and their wounds are not considered life threatening, according to Col. John Fortunato, a sheriff's spokesman. After arriving at the scene, sheriff's officials quickly apprehended a man, who had a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol in his possession near Eiseman and Expressway, according to Fortunato, who added that he does not yet have additional details on the suspect. Authorities found .45-caliber casings near the expressway and believe that while the wounded men were found at the 500 block of Ames, they likely were dragged or walked there. "There was a blood trail leading from another direction," said Fortunato, who explained the shooting either occurred at the tail end of the parade or immediately after its conclusion. "We have no idea if anyone of them were participants in the parade." He said that while they have a suspect in custody, they are not yet certain he was the shooter. About 5 p.m., additional shots were fired around Betty Street, about a mile south of the original location. An additional suspect was apprehended for that incident, Fortunato said. "There's a lot of people out there, and we are trying to make determinations of where the incidents occurred, and we're encouraging people to call with additional information," he said. Anyone with information may call the Sheriff's Office at 504.364.5300 or Crimestoppers at 504.822.1111
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