NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans police are getting closer to solving a senseless mass shooting that grabbed national headlines.
The shooting happened last Sunday night at Bunny Friend playground in the Ninth Ward.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu and NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison identified 32-year-old Joseph "Moe" Allen as one of the men who fired into a group of about 500 people.
The gunfire sent 17 to the hospital with a variety of gunshot related injuries.
"He is an armed and dangerous person and we need him in custody as soon as possible," Harrison said.
"We need the community now to help us find where he is, so that we can apprehend him," Landrieu said.
Once he's apprehended, Allen will face 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Police believe several other suspects were also involved in the shooting.
"It wasn't just one target," Harrison said. "With the number of shooters, they weren't just shooting at one person. There were people shooting at each other and a lot of people got hurt."
Police would not reveal any motive for the shooting, but said there were probably multiple groups or gangs involved. They also claim Allen is no stranger to law enforcement.
"He has a criminal background and there are ties to more than one organization," Harrison said.
Landrieu said this is only the first shoe to drop in the case. He's confident with the public help, police will be able to take all of the Bunny Friend shooters off the streets.
"If you want this community to be safe, everybody's got to participate," Landrieu said. "If anybody harbors this guy or anybody else that was involved in this, you're going to be brought to justice as well."
Police are also asking anyone with video or photos of the shooting to please contact the NOPD.
The New Orleans Advocate is reporting Joseph "Moe" Allen was a co-defendant in a 2002 drug possession case with Travis "Trap" Scott.
He's the older brother of admitted Mother's Day 2013 mass shooters Akein and Shawn Scott.