Alabama man shoots ex-wife on Mardi Gras float, kills her new boyfriend
Mobile AL Feb 28 2020 A man is accused of injuring his ex-wife and killing her new boyfriend after a Mardi Gras parade in Alabama, according to police.
Anthony Orr, 49, was taken into custody at about 10 p.m. Monday, roughly four hours after police say he shot both victims, WALA reported.
Orr had threatened his ex earlier that day while she was riding on a float in one of several Mardi Gras parades in Mobile, Police Chief Lawrence Battiste said in a press conference streamed online by media outlets.
The woman was still on a float when Orr shot her, leaving her with “serious injuries,” Battiste said. The male victim died at the scene, he added.
Orr’s ex-wife said in a divorce filing in March that Orr was “verbally, emotionally and physically abusive” toward her, AL.com reported.
A week before the shooting, Orr was arrested on domestic violence charges after allegedly beating and kicking the woman, according to WALA.
“There are certain individuals that should not have bail,” Battiste said in the press conference.
Orr “is a prime example” of someone who should not have been released, he said.
Orr has been charged with murder, attempted murder and discharging a gun, according to Mobile County jail records.
Mobile was the birthplace of Mardi Gras in 1703. Celebrations begin two and a half weeks before Fat Tuesday, according to the city’s website.
Battiste said Orr acted alone and “chose to deal with the domestic situation here at Mardi Gras.”
“When a person has made up in their mind from an emotional standpoint they want to do something like this, there’s nothing I or anyone in law enforcement anywhere across this nation can do to prevent an event like this other than through educating people about how to deal with conflict resolution,” Battiste said.
