Man, 57, sought on attempted-homicide charge after Belfast Street shooting

A 57-year-old man who shot at two teenage girls who were sitting on a vehicle outside his Belfast Street home Sunday evening is now wanted on an attempted-homicide charge, New Orleans police said.

The young women, ages 17 and 19, were sitting on a vehicle parked in the 9300 block of Belfast Street (near the Jefferson Parish line) outside the home of 57-year-old Mario Steptor around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, according to a NOPD news release.

“A verbal altercation then reportedly ensued, at which time the perpetrator then allegedly retrieved a gun and chased the victims down the street while shooting at them,” according to the report on the incident.

Both victims suffered “minor injuries” while fleeing from Steptor, but neither was actually shot, the report states.

Steptor is wanted on two counts of attempted homicide and one count of aggravated criminal damage to property related to the shooting, the report states. Anyone who can help locate him is urged to call the NOPD Second District station at 658-6020 to speak to a detective, or CrimeStoppers at 822-1111 to leave an anonymous tip that could be eligible for a cash reward.

In an unrelated incident, two other teens were shot Friday night on Simon Bolivar Avenue in Central City. The victims, ages 19 and 14, were near Simon Bolivar and Rev. John Raphael Way around 10:20 p.m. when the shooting took place, and both were taken to the hospital and listed in stable condition afterward, police said.

Further details were not available in that case. Anyone with information is urged to call the NOPD Sixth District station at 658-6060, or CrimeStoppers at 822-1111.