A shooting took place in the parking lot of Xavier University outside of the convocation center on Tuesday following a high school graduation, according to WWNO.

Witnesses told KSLA that they heard approximately five to 12 gunshots. One person died and two other individuals were injured as the Morris Jeff High School graduates filled out the parking lot area.

The family of the deceased victim identified the woman as 80-year-old Augustine Greenwood, according to KSLA. 

NOPD Deputy Supt. Christopher Goodly didn’t reveal the ages of the two wounded males who sustained injuries that were not life threatening.

According to Goodly, the altercation was a “senseless act of violence” which started after two women engaged in an argument. The quarrel then escalated into gunfire, and Greenwood was hit as she walked to a car nearby.

“This unfortunate incident did not have to happen,” Goodly said.

He relayed to reporters that officers detained at least three people for questioning, but no one was formally arrested. 

Dr. Henderson Lewis Jr., superintendent of NOLA-PS, issued a statement.

“I am outraged and saddened by the callousness shown today outside Xavier University. The graduating seniors of Morris Jeff were there to share in their collective achievements and bask in the brightness of their futures – only to have their optimism ripped apart by gun violence. This has got to stop. … All our children have a right to be safe and we must do all we can in our power to protect that right,” he said, KSLA reports.

Patricia Perkins, Morris Jeff’s head of school, echoed the same sentiments about the devastation that happened after the ceremony.

“This is a horrific tragedy on what should be a day of celebration for our seniors,” she said in a statement, according to KSLA. “But Morris Jeff is a strong school community and we will unite to help each other heal. Every day, we teach our children to solve their differences with their words and to be compassionate toward each other. Our graduates will make a difference in this world because they learn to see each other as equal human beings. This resolve is only stronger after today’s violence.”

New Orleans City Councilmember Oliver Thomas, who has children that attend Morris Jeff’s high school and middle school, also expressed his outrage following the incident.

“This lady went to a graduation; she didn’t sign up to be executed,” Thomas said, according to KSLA. “How many more people could have been injured? Why did this lady have to give her life because she wanted to see her loved one graduate? Why? What was so big about the argument? What was so profound? What was so devastating about the argument that you had to shoot out there?”

Thomas said he was disappointed that the current culture emboldens criminals.

“You can’t go to graduation,” Thomas said. “You can’t go to second line. You can’t go to a birthday party. You can’t go to the restaurant. You can’t go to a bar on Magazine. You can’t go to the gas station. Where? Where can we go?”

Greene said he wants District Attorney Jason Williams to bring charges against those responsible and set a precedent that the community will not tolerate such acts of violence.