NEW ORLEANS - The evacuation of the Superdome was disrupted Thursday after at least one shot was reported fired at a military helicopter while fights and trash fires broke out outside the arena. No injuries were immediately reported.An air ambulance service official said helicopter transfers of the sick and injured were suspended.Able-bodied evacuees were still being moved by bus to Houston's astrodome, the National Guard said, correcting a Guard official who said that operation was on hold as well.However, the scene at the Superdome became increasingly chaotic, with thousands of people rushing from nearby hotels and other buildings, hoping to climb onto the buses taking evacuees from the arena, officials said. Paramedics became increasingly alarmed by the sight of people with guns.“There’s so many people there. It’s a desperate situation with no air conditioning and no water,” Louisiana National Guard Lt. Col. Pete Schneider said of the Superdome.The helicopter operation was suspended “until they gain control of the Superdome,” said Richard Zuschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, which was handling the evacuation of sick and injured people.He said the National Guard told him that it was sending 100 military police officers to gain control. “That’s not enough,” Zuschlag. “We need a thousand.”Medics were calling him and crying for help because they were so scared of people with guns at the Superdome, he added.
