NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans’ annual Carnival season entered its ebullient crescendo Tuesday with thousands of revelers gathering in the French Quarter and lining miles of parade routes in a citywide Mardi Gras celebration underpinned this year by violent crime concerns and political turmoil.
Celebrations began before dawn in some parts of the city. TV crews captured images of The North Side Skull and Bones gang — skeleton-costumed revelers — spreading out through the Treme area to awaken people for Mardi Gras. As the sun rose, peaking through breaks in the cloudy sky, parade watchers were already claiming spots along the St. Charles Avenue parade route. Barbecue smells wafted through the Central Business District.
Revelers were undeterred by violence that marred a glitzy weekend parade. Gunfire that broke out during a parade Sunday night left a teenager dead and four others injured, including a 4-year-old girl. Police quickly arrested Mansour Mbodj, 21, for illegally carrying a weapon, then upgraded the charge to second-degree murder.
