Chris Ardoin, the third-generation zydeco performer and brother of Sean Ardoin, was shot following a performance, according to his wife Kerri Ardoin via his Facebook page early Saturday morning. Older brother Sean took to Facebook to say that his brother’s injuries are not life threatening and thanked everyone for their concern. He wrote: “God is faithful and praise Him that the bullet is ‘safely’ lodged in soft tissue in his back and is not a threat. Thank you your prayers and concern we’ll all believe that it will just be a reminder of how blessed he is and will never move from its resting place nor cause him discomfort in Jesus name. And for all other concerns, from the report I got from family, it was not a fight, the gig was over and it was solo shooter. Smh we live in ‘interesting’ times.”
He added that if anyone knows anything about the identity of the shooter they should post in his comments.
A statement from the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office states Chris Ardoin was one of two people, including a 14-year-old, struck when multiple people shot into a crowd at Louisiana Mudfest, an off-road venue in Colfax that also hosts music events. The sheriff’s office said there were thousands of people leaving the event at the time of the shooting. Two people with guns jumped on the running boards of a vehicle that was exiting, the agency said, but they were arrested by deputies.
As seen on Travel Channel’s Mud People, Louisiana Mudfest touts itself as being “one of the largest mudding parks in the South.” Saturday the festival announced that the remainder of activities for the weekend have been canceled.