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NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Gunfire wounded four people on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street as a costumed crowd partied amid the countdown to Mardi Gras, sending people running, police and bystanders said. Four shots rang out rapidly Saturday night, followed by screams as some in the crowd staggered into one another and a nearby wall, video taken by a bystander and released by police showed. Authorities said in an email Sunday that an argument involving one of the victims led to the shooting. They described the video - released early Sunday - as showing two men leaving the argument and returning with a third before the gunfire erupted. No arrests were immediately reported, and police said they were seeking the three men who fled. The wounded were two males and two females, New Orleans Police spokesman Frank B. Robertson said. One male victim was in guarded condition Sunday with shots to the abdomen, thigh and pelvis, Robertson said. The second male was shot in the buttocks, one female was shot on the chin and right foot, and the second female was shot on the toe, according to Robertson's statement. Police had said late Saturday that the most severely wounded man was undergoing surgery while the others were stable. None was identified by age or name. The shooting came on the last weekend of partying before Mardi Gras, the Fat Tuesday celebration that is the signature tourist event of the year in New Orleans. And for thousands, the partying continued despite the shooting. New Orleans has been plagued for years by violent crime, including gun violence that has soared since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005. In 2011, sixteen people were shot and at least two killed in Halloween shootings in New Orleans. One of those killed - a 25-year-old local resident - was shot near the famous Chris Owens nightclub, about a block away from Saturday's incident. Police placed the Saturday shooting in the 400 block of Bourbon Street. Patrick Clay, 21, a Louisiana State University student, told The Times-Picayune that he was standing on the corner of Bourbon Street on Saturday night when suddenly he saw a crowd running and people screaming that there had been a shooting. "Everyone immediately started running and the cops immediately started running toward where people were running from," Clay said. "I was with a group of about seven people and at that point, we all just kind of grasped hands and made our way through the crowd as soon as possible." Some bartenders and revelers said the block of Bourbon Street where the shooting occurred was closed for a time while detectives investigated, but partying resumed hours later across that stretch. Julia Rosenthal, a 19-year-old from Westchester, N.Y., had mixed feelings about hanging out in the French Quarter after the shooting. "It's not an OK thing that happened, and it's definitely scary. But I'm not going to let it affect my night," she said. Peter Manabani, an employee at the Rat's Hole bar, said police had shut down a whole Bourbon Street block for an hour to investigate but allowed people to return to the area later. Hours later on Sunday, there was little evidence that a shooting had occurred. Overnight revelers were in full party mode, packing the block amid a heavy police presence. Laura Gonzalez, 21, of Baytown, Texas, said it was her first Mardi Gras and she spent some time in the Fat Catz bar nearby as police investigated. She said the bar locked its doors quickly after the shots rang out and wouldn't let anyone in or out while police went to the scene. Asked if it was frightening, she responded: "Not really. We were just locked in a bar and we weren't going to let this one incident wreck our party." Parades rolled all day Saturday but none on Bourbon Street because the streets are too narrow. One of the biggest Mardi Gras parades, the Krewe of Endymion, rolled down a major thoroughfare and just skirted Bourbon Street a few hours before the shooting. Typically, once the parades end, partygoers head to the French Quarter.

Authorities are identifying the man shot to death by two St. Louis police officers during Mardi Gras as 32 year old Otis Roberson.

Witnesses told police that Roberson had been brawling with another man and then pulled a gun, firing at least one shot into the air.

St. Louis Police Lt. Col. Lawrence O’Toole says two St. Louis police officers had been patroling nearby when they heard the shot. When arrived, the officers ordered Roberson to drop his gun, but instead he turned and pointed the weapon at police. O'Toole says both officers fired several shots, striking Roberson. The North County man later died at the hospital.

Mardi Gras Inc. spokesman Mack Bradley praised the officers for acting appropriately. Both officers had been working for Mardi Gras Inc. under a secondary employment agreement allowing police to work extra jobs during their off hours. Both are veterans with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, one with 22 years on duty and the other with 33 years on the force. Both have been placed on routine administrative leave.

This is the first fatal shooting in the Soulard festival's 34 year history.

St. Louis police reported that 80 people were arrested during the Mardi Gras celebrations in Soulard Saturday. Seventy-six of them were juveniles arrested for consumption of alcohol by a minor.

MoDOT has detailed ramp closures this weekend due to Mardi Gras activities.

Saturday ramps in both directions of 55 will close at Arsenal and Gravois, as well as the northbound 55 ramp to 3200 Broadway. Those ramps will all be closed from 6AM to 4PM. The eastbound I-70 ramp to Broadway will be closed from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. for the Fat Tuesday parade and activities. A complete list of closures can be found below:

On February 11 once a day closures of I-64 will begin at the new I-64 Daniel Boone Missouri River Bridge to blast rock adjacent to the eastbound lanes on the St. Charles County end of the bridge. Traffic will be stopped for up to 10 minutes at either 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. weekdays for about one month.

The following lane closures are all weather permitting:

Thursday, February 7 I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the express lanes will be closed I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Madison ramp from westbound I-70 will be closed. I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., one right lane closed westbound from Biddle to Branch. Route 109, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the right through lane on southbound will be closed. Route 141, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., single lane closures on Route 340 (Olive Boulevard) and ramps. I-64, St. Charles County, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., one right lane closed from Research Park to the Daniel Boone Bridge. I-70, St. Charles County, 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., one lane closed in either direction just east of Mid Rivers Mall Drive. I-55, Jefferson County, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., one left lane closed southbound at Route 67.

Friday, February 8 I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the express lanes will be closed I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Madison ramp from westbound I-70 will be closed. I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., one right lane closed westbound from Biddle to Branch. I-270, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. one lane closed on eastbound from Halls Ferry to Route 367. Route 109, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the right through lane on southbound will be closed. Route 141, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., single lane closures on Route 340 (Olive Boulevard) and ramps. I-64, St. Charles County, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., one right lane closed from Research Park to the Daniel Boone Bridge.

Saturday, February 9 I-64, St. Louis City, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., one lane closed on eastbound I-64 from 14th Street to the Poplar Street Bridge I-64, St. Charles County, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., one right lane closed from Research Park to the Daniel Boone Bridge.

Sunday, February 10 No work zones planned

Monday, February 11 I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Madison ramp from westbound I-70 will be closed. I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., one right lane closed westbound from Biddle to Branch. I-44, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., two right lanes closed eastbound at Berry Road. I-64, St. Louis and St. Charles County, 10 a.m. and/or 2 p.m., all lanes closed from Boones Crossing to Route 94 for up to 15 minutes for blasting I-270, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. one lane closed on southbound from McDonnell to Route 370. Route 109, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the right through lane on southbound will be closed. Route 141, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., single lane closures on Route 340 (Olive Boulevard) and ramps. I-55, Jefferson County, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., one left lane closed southbound at Route 67.

Tuesday, February 12 I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Madison ramp from westbound I-70 will be closed. I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., one right lane closed westbound from Biddle to Branch. I-64, St. Louis and St. Charles County, 10 a.m. and/or 2 p.m., all lanes closed from Boones Crossing to Route 94 for up to 15 minutes for blasting I-255, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., one lane closed on northbound at the JB Bridge. Route 109, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the right through lane on southbound will be closed. Route 141, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., single lane closures on Route 340 (Olive Boulevard) and ramps. I-55, Jefferson County, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., one left lane closed southbound at Route 67.

Wednesday, February 13 I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Madison ramp from westbound I-70 will be closed. I-70, St. Louis City, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., one right lane closed westbound from Biddle to Branch. I-64, St. Louis and St. Charles County, 10 a.m. and/or 2 p.m., all lanes closed from Boones Crossing to Route 94 for up to 15 minutes for blasting I-255, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., one lane closed on northbound at the JB Bridge. I-270, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. one lane closed on southbound from McDonnell to Route 370. Route 109, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the right through lane on southbound will be closed. Route 141, St. Louis County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., single lane closures on Route 340 (Olive Boulevard) and ramps. I-55, Jefferson County, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., one left lane closed southbound at Route 67.