It was the shot heard 'round the Carnival circuit. On Friday afternoon, the convivial hum of a dozen simultaneous conversations in the sanctum sanctorum of New Orleans' social set, Galatoire's, was pierced by the unfamiliar crackle of a gunshot. Luckily, no one was injured by the errant bullet, which apparently was fired when a purse containing a .38-caliber pistol fell off a table near the foyer and went off when it hit the floor. The bullet lodged harmlessly in a panel of black wainscoting. Police came and took an incident report. No one was arrested.
But the episode soon took on a life of its own among the famed eatery's obsessive customers, who had not been thrown into such a tizzy since beloved waiter Gilberto Eyzaguirre was fired in 2002 amid claims of sexual harassment -- or, before that, when the hidebound restaurant in the mid-1900s bucked its tradition of hand-chipping ice and bought a machine to do it. Conspiracy theories soon abounded regarded the identity of Friday's accidental shooter -- whom the restaurant identified only as a woman who had permission to carry a gun. An item about the incident on NOLA.com attracted 114 comments, many of them speculating fancifully on the gun owner's identity.
The restaurant's management has been unwilling to say more about the incident. But New Orleans police on Monday said the gun belonged to Cheryl Mintz, who handles public relations for the Hurwitz Mintz furniture store. She was accompanied at the restaurant by her husband, Brett Bauman, who owns Planetguide Interactive Media, which counts Galatoire's as a customer. Reached Monday, Bauman declined to comment. Mintz did not return a phone message or respond to an e-mail message seeking comment.
Garry Flot, a spokesman for the NOPD, said Bauman is the registered owner of the weapon, an extra-small pistol known as a derringer, manufactured by Cobra Enterprises. But it was in Mintz's purse. Both Mintz and Bauman have concealed-carry permits, Flot said. Flot said an officer who responded reviewed a security videotape, which backed up Mintz's version of events. He said charges are unlikely, although it will be up to Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro to decide. "If someone had been injured, it might be different," Flot said.
I take it that there is a dfference between a .38 caliber pistol and a derringer. But in either case could it have happened without her being negligent?
"Is she gone yet?"