Bourbon Street bar worker killed by stray bullet, woman arrested, NOPD says

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A Bourbon Street nightclub employee was killed early Sunday (March 20) by what New Orleans police said was a stray bullet fired by a woman standing outside his bar.

The 46-year-old victim, identified by a friend and former co-worker as Charles Spencer Hudson, was from Georgia and had worked at the French Quarter karaoke bar Cat’s Meow at 701 Bourbon St. for at least 10 years, his friend told WVUE-Fox 8.

Police detained and later arrested a 24-year-old woman accused of firing the fatal shot, which struck Hudson in the chest at about 2:05 a.m. as he worked inside the bar crowded with a wedding party and other patrons.

Daphney D. Jackson was booked into the Orleans Justice Center jail at 8:09 a.m. on single counts of manslaughter, obstruction of justice and discharging a weapon during a violent crime. Jackson’s bond was set at $450,000 after her first appearance Sunday afternoon in Orleans Parish Magistrate Court.

Daphney Jackson, 24, was booked with manslaughter and other counts after allegedly firing the... — Daphney Jackson, 24, was booked with manslaughter and other counts after allegedly firing the gunshot that killed employee Spencer Hudson inside a Bourbon Street nightclub early Sunday (March 20).(Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office)

Jackson faces up to 40 years in state prison if convicted on either the manslaughter or obstruction allegations.

A man was fatally shot in the chest inside a Bourbon Street business early Sunday (March 20),... — A man was fatally shot in the chest inside a Bourbon Street business early Sunday (March 20), New Orleans police said.(Image courtesy of Earthcam.com)

The shooting occurred in a bustling stretch of New Orleans’ most famous tourist street, just 13 days before the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Final Four comes to town.

The NOPD did not immediately respond to further questions about the incident, nor explain who or what investigators believe Jackson was aiming toward when she allegedly fired her weapon.

The 24-hour Bourbon Street webcam of Earthcam.com went dark at street level as police continued their investigation more than four hours after the shooting. A second Earthcam on the balcony of the Cat’s Meow showed crime scene tape and police officers manning the closed intersection of Bourbon and St. Peter streets for hours in the pre-dawn darkness.

Anyone with information on the fatal shooting is asked to contact NOPD homicide detective Walter Edmond at (504) 658-5300 or Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.