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New Orleans' Mardi Gras sees three men shot, two killed

NEW ORLEANS - Just before midnight on Tuesday, New Orleans police say officers found two people shot to death in a parking lot near the Port of New Orleans, only blocks away from where another shooting occurred earlier that night.

In a statement, police said both victims in the parking lot were shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene. CBS affiliate WWL reported the victims were 25-year-old Deron Hitchens and 28-year-old Kendrell Fields, who were identified by the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office.

Police arrived at the parking lot to find Hitchens unresponsive in a silver Toyota and Fields lying on the ground, reports the station.

Another shooting had occurred nearby an hour earlier at a banquet hall, where a 25-year-old man was wounded while attending a Mardi Gras World concert by an Atlanta rapper around 10 p.m.

Police said the two incidents appear to be unrelated.

The unidentified victim said he was approached by a man he did not know who then shot him in the shoulder and ran off, according to WWL. He was brought to the hospital and listed in stable condition.

Police told the station that they were still in the process of gathering evidence in both crimes and do not have a motive in either. In the earlier shooting at the concert, police are seeking an African American man with a "Rick Ross-style beard" and low haircut, with several gold teeth. He was reportedly wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and colorful tennis shoes.

Anyone with information about either incident is encouraged to call Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.

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