A total of 11 people have been hit in an early morning shooting in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the US.

A police release said two people are in critical condition but no arrests have been made.

Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson told The New Orleans Advocate/The Times-Picayune a person of interest has been detained but they are not considered to be a suspect.

The newspaper reports it is the second mass shooting in recent years on the weekend of Bayou Classic after a 2016 fight that killed Baton Rouge tattoo artist Demontris Toliver and left nine others injured.

Eleven people were shot on Canal Street in the early hours of Sunday. Photo: Paul Dudley/WWLTV

Superintendent Ferguson said the 10 victims from Sunday’s shooting were taken to two hospitals.

Another walked in to one of the hospitals for treatment after being transported in a private vehicle.

Further details about their conditions have yet to be released.

The shooting took place on a busy commercial block of Canal Street that is close to many hotels.

The gunfire broke out in the 700 block of Canal Street just before 3.30am.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvW9ziCvqd0&feature=emb_title

Superintendent Ferguson said police quickly responded to the scene as patrols were heightened for this weekend’s Bayou Classic, the annual Thanksgiving weekend rivalry American football game between Grambling State and Southern University at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

WWLTV reporter Paul Dudley tweeted: “Officers were right there as it was happening. The officers actually thought they were being shot at.”

-with AAP