site of New Orleans attack
site of New Orleans attackReuters

Nineteen people were wounded in a shooting at a Mother's Day parade in New Orleans, police said.

Those wounded by the eruption of gunfire in the early afternoon attack included 17 adults and two 10-year-olds, the local police department said in a statement, according to AFP.

"Many of the victims were grazed (some by bullets that ricocheted)," it said. "At this point, there are no fatalities, and most of the wounds are not life-threatening."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the shooting was unrelated to terrorism, calling it "street violence."

"From all of our intelligence, we have no reason to believe it was an act of terror, just street violence," Mary Beth Romig, a spokeswoman for the FBI in New Orleans, told AFP. But "certainly today was not a normal day in New Orleans."

Shots were fired from different guns, and officers saw three suspects running from the scene, police said.

One of the suspects was described as an African-American male, approximately 18 to 22 years old, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jean shorts, according to CNN.

No one is in custody.

"It's just a very tragic day for us," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu told reporters after visiting some of the wounded in hospital, as he vowed to find those responsible “and make sure that they don't hurt innocent victims anymore."

The incident comes less than a month after twin bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon killed three people and wounded more than 260. In December, a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Connecticut, killing 20 children and six staff members.