Crumpled crime scene tape and bullet holes in the door of a New Orleans nightclub were all that remained Monday morning, hours after a woman was killed and 11 others were shot outside the club in the 800 block of South Peters Street.
The mass shooting erupted just before midnight outside Republic NOLA, a popular Central Business District music venue and nightlife spot. New Orleans police officers responding to emergency calls found the deceased victim, along with five men and six women who were injured and taken by ambulance or private vehicle to hospitals.
The woman who was shot to death was identified as 24-year-old Jazreel Aquilla Poleate, of Harvey, Monday afternoon.
Nick Thomas, the owner of the Republic, was reached by phone Monday morning.
"The only thing I can say at this time is that luckily all of the staff are safe and the incident was entirely outside," Thomas said.
Hip-hop artist Anycia performed at the Republic the night of the shooting, according to Eventbrite.
A witness who was staying at a hotel nearby described chaos after she was awakened by the gunfire.
See photos, surveillance video from scene of mass shooting outside New Orleans nightclub
Kelsey Holt of Nashville reported hearing six or seven shots and mistook them at first for fireworks. She went to the window and saw 30 or 40 people fleeing the Republic, she said. Multiple people were running down the street while others leaned against the building.
“I saw people pouring out" of the club, said Holt, who was scheduled to take a cruise out of New Orleans on Monday. “I feel awful for everyone involved.”
One woman lay face down in the street as a small group of people surrounded her and rendered aid, Holt said.
At least four bullet holes marred the club’s padlocked doors on Monday morning.
Bria Smith, who was at the Republic, attended Helen Cox High School with Poleate and described her as “a lovely, welcoming person who was always smiling.”
Smith had come to the Republic to celebrate her birthday. She was inside of the club when she heard shots ring out and initially thought that they were part of the song.
She said the shooting started outside of the club and created a “chaotic scene."
“I ran for the bathroom,” Smith said. “My thing is run, hide, fight. I was trying to keep myself the safest. I saw people with blood on their shoes and on their clothes. … Somebody was on the floor. You could hear people running.”
She said it’s been less than a year since she lost another close friend to gun violence: Ja’diamond Jones, who was gunned down outside of a Treme hookah lounge while celebrating her graduation in May 2023.
The violence makes her question her decision to stay in New Orleans.
“I’m scared. Do I need to wear a bulletproof vest to come out here?” she asked.
One woman died and 11 others were injured after a mass shooting in the Central Business District of New Orleans, police have said.
Security footage from a nearby hotel shows the scene after the crime, provided by WWL Louisiana.
A man who worked at a nearby business said it was at least the third shooting in two years on the block. He asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation.
"It’s a constant theme there between fights and shootings," he said. "It’s more of the same.”
NOPD will hold press conference at its headquarters Monday at 4 p.m. to address the mass shooting and other recent high-profile crimes involving gun violence.
NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick will give updates on the April 7 shooting in Mid-City that killed a security guard and the Feb. 13 shooting on Royal Street that left three people injured.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other city officials will be in attendance.
