NEWS: Evacuation of Superdome suspended after shots fired at helicopter, page 1

The evacuation of the Superdome in New Orleans has been suspended after a helicopeter assisting in the evacuation came under fire. A national guardsman has been slightly wounded and a spokesman said that the evacuation was to be postponed until the security of the staff could be guaranteed.

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This is an appaling act of selfishness at a time when people are in danger and need help as soon as possible. Hopefully whichever moron was responsible for this will be caught and punished to the full extent of the law.

[edit on 1-9-2005 by Uncle Joe]

[edit on 1-9-2005 by Uncle Joe]

[edit on 1-9-2005 by Uncle Joe]

[edit on 1-9-2005 by Uncle Joe]

Related US Story here

I was working on the story while this was posted and wanted to wait for confirmation it did in fact take place since CNN and Fox are saying the shootings were unconfirmed.

Live reports on Fox right now say Rick Snyder on the USS Bataan, is still saying the shooting is not confirmed

[edit on 9/1/2005 by shots]

A cursory examination of sources through Google News seems to indicate that the situation is beginning to deteriorate. Although I am confident that many of the stories may be exaggerated, it would not surprise me to learn that a majority of them were accurate. The Houston Chronicle reports that "a supply truck carrying food, water and medical supplies was held up at gunpoint". It also states that, at the same hospital, "There are physical threats to safety from roving bands of armed individuals with weapons who are threatening the safety of the hospital".

Paramedics are reported to be "scared of people with guns at the Superdome", MSNBC reports. An affiliate of one of our news networks claimed that tensions within the Superdome were heightened due to tension between rival gangs. Has this been confirmed? My wife is a paramedic here in Australia and I cannot imagine what it must be like for the emergency relief personnel as they try to do their jobs under these conditions. My heart is with them and their loved ones. I hope for the best, although I would not be surprised to see a further deterioration of the already tense situation.

[edit on 1/9/05 by Jeremiah25]

Here is the first story I found with details of the Guardsman being shot.
New Orleans evacuation delayed by shooting

A national guard soldier was shot and wounded yesterday in the Superdome Arena housing thousands of refugees in increasingly squalid conditions, said Kathleen Blanco, the Louisiana governor.

Now a report from reuters on the shooting......

UPDATE 2-New Orleans evacuation delayed by shooting, chaos

The helicopter incident was just part of the chaos that prompted New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to order police to drop rescue operations to fight looting and other crime that gripped the city. A National Guard soldier was shot and wounded on Wednesday in the Superdome arena housing thousands of refugees in increasingly squalid conditions

More troops on the way....

CNN is reporting that up to 60,000 people are trying to evacuate NO, and the numbers are still growing. They also confirmed both shootings.

He confirmed that a National Guardsman was shot and wounded on Wednesday and that there had been reports that a Chinook helicopter was shot at Thursday while trying to evacuate people.

www.cnn.com...

The situation sounds like it is deteriorating fast.

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