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Baton Rouge Police Department investigating shooting near 225 Fest on Saturday
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BATON ROUGE — The Baton Rouge Police Department announced on Monday that it is investigating a shooting that occurred near 225 Fest.
According to the department, the incident occurred near the levee around 4:50 p.m. on Saturday when a fight between two juvenile males escalated into a shooting.
"It looks like a disagreement. A fistfight that broke out, then one or two subjects pulled out guns, fired," Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said.
Officers with BRPD said the initial 911 call sent them to a location with no signs of a shooting. It wasn't until officers later reviewed BRPD camera footage near the levee that the shooting was discovered.
"We were reviewing surveillance video in the area, some of our crime cameras that capture the activity down there. There was no one injured in the shooting, and we are still investigating this. Our detectives are working on it, trying to identify the people who were involved," Morse said.
Early reports from Saturday led to confusion over whether the incident happened at or near the 225 Fest.
"I think it just depends on your definition of inside the 225 Fest. It was not inside where the band and the music and I think the vast majority of the people that were attending," Morse said.
Many Baton Rouge residents found out about the incident on Monday, telling WBRZ that they don't understand why these situations escalate into gunfire.
"I mean, it doesn't really surprise me that much in the sense that people get in arguments and do stupid things with guns," Jason Todd said.
Several people told WBRZ that even if the incident didn't take place inside the main areas of 225 Fest, it still could leave a bad mark on it.
"That's obviously concerning. I have been to the 225 Festival in years past, and I've always enjoyed it. I do feel like it's unfortunate that they have bad characters that I guess are tainting the name of an event that doesn't really give those types of vibes," Baton Rouge resident Joe Brown said.
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