Baton Rouge club shooting that injured 12 was ‘targeted attack,’ police say

Police in Baton Rouge are looking for at least one suspect after an early Sunday shooting at a nightclub injured a dozen people, including three left with life-threatening

injuries. Officers responded to a shooting at Dior Bar and Lounge at 1:30 a.m. Lt. Bryan Ballard, who commands the Baton Rouge Police Department’s homicide division,

referred to the shooting as a “targeted attack” during a news conference Sunday evening. The shooting was “not just a random act of someone showing up and randomly

shooting citizens of Baton Rouge,” Ballard said. Police have not identified any suspects or a motive as of Sunday evening. Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy J. Paul Jr.

pleaded for anyone with information about who carried out the attack to come forward. He later said that someone was targeted in the shooting and “others were also injured in that

process." “There’s someone who knows something,” Paul said when urging anyone with information to report it. “Do the right thing.” The shooting in Louisiana’s

capital happened hours after a gunman killed 10 and injured 10 others at a dance studio in Monterey Park, Calif., following a Lunar New Year celebration. The two incidents bring

the total number of mass shootings this year to 34, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The organization defines a mass shooting as four or more people injured or killed, not

including the shooter. Officials on Sunday said they did not know whether more than one suspect was involved in the shooting at Dior Bar and Lounge, and did not identify

the type of firearm used, citing the ongoing investigation. They also have not released the identities of anyone injured in the shooting.