Boy, 14, fatally shot in St. Claude neighborhood, NOPD says

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A 14-year-old boy was fatally shot in the St. Claude neighborhood Thursday night (March 2), New Orleans police said.

The slain teen was identified as Octavius Wells by the parish coroner Monday morning. Police said he was shot several times before dying in the 1600 block of Lesseps Street, around 9:50 p.m.

“We don’t have any suspects developed at this time,” said NOPD Capt. Kevin Burns Jr. of the department’s homicide section. “But we understand there were many witnesses out at this time. We’re asking for those individuals to come forward and tell us what they saw.”

Officers initially reported difficulty maintaining crowd control at the scene, and called for additional units from other districts to come help keep order. No additional injuries or arrests were reported.

“Emotions are high,” Burns said. “Everybody is tense right now.”

Burns estimated up to 10 shots had been fired, based on a preliminary collection of evidence at the scene.

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