NEW ORLEANS — Three people were killed and two others wounded when a raging gun battle erupted inside a News Orleans gun store and then spilled into a parking lot, police said.
The deadly fire fight at Jefferson Gun Outlet, a firearms store and shooting range, began when one man inside shot two people to death, sparking numerous customers, employees and other armed passersby to open fire, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff office said.
Police say the man who triggered off the shootout was ultimately killed in the parking lot. Two others were injured as the gunfight moved outside, police said, but their injuries were not thought to be critical.
Police sources told Nola.com that detectives believed the gunfire may have been sparked when the initial shooter argued with store employees who ordered him to unload an extended magazine from a pistol he carried into the business. Gun ranges generally forbid patrons to carry loaded weapons in the lobby.
