Mardi Gras Indian Tribe Queen killed in N.O. East

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) - The Mardi Gras Indian Tribe, the Spirit of FiYiYi, mourns their big queen, 55-year-old Kim Boutte.

“For 10 years, we came up together. Lord knows, I cry and I stop and then I cry again,” says Albert Polite.

Tuesday afternoon around 5:30 p.m., family members tell FOX 8, there was a funeral repast going on in the 7300 block of Read Boulevard. They say Boutte was attending the repast and she and several others were outside in the parking lot when someone pulled up and started shooting. They say Boutte was shot in the chest and fell to the ground. Police say a man was also shot, and he’s in stable condition. Boutte died.

“Everything about her was good. There was nothing bad about my sister, and I miss her so much. Whoever did this, I hope they turn themselves in because it wasn’t right at all,” says Michie Boutte.

“Kim was showing respect and love for someone who had passed away, not knowing that it was going to be her time to leave us,” says Robert Salter.

Her family and friends do not believe Boutte was a target, and they struggle with the way it all happened.

Boutte began masking with the Indian Tribe at just 5-years-old, and is described as one of the most spirited to ever wear a suit.

“Even the other tribes, the other tribes loved her like she was their queen,” says Albert Polite.

She was known to lead the tribe through the streets playing a cowbell and chanting. The City of NOLA even tweeted about the loss calling it a heartbreaking blow.

“Everyone loved my sister. She was well known and well loved,” says Michie Boutte.

The New Orleans Police says the case is still under investigation. There are no suspects or motive at this time.

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