CLINTON - Organizers of Clinton's Mardi Gras in the Country Parade hosted a fundraiser on Saturday, March 7, for the victims of the January parade shooting.

Members of the Feliciana Family and Friends Mardi Gras Committee sold lunch plates just steps away from where the shooting happened five weeks earlier.

Genella Carter said it was important for the committee to step in and support those five victims, including a six-year-old girl.

"Anything helps. Especially one of them, she's a young mother, so she's going to need all the help she can get. I'm just happy that we're able to do something," said Carter.

Investigators believe the shooting was gang-related, and the victims were all innocent bystanders.

President of the Feliciana Family and Friends Mardi Gras Committee, Sheila Flowers, said it's important for the community to come together, especially after that violent day.

"It was just unreal. It was something that had never happened in the town before. And I still feel like it should've never happened in this town," said Flowers.

All five victims are still recovering, with at least one getting intensive medical care.

"I know that two of the victims are home. One is in a nursing home. That's all I know. The child is back at home with her mom. Her mom was also shot in the leg," said Flowers.

Law enforcement worked quickly, arresting five suspects within two weeks of the shooting. They are each being held on a $1.8 million bond.

"It's just a sad situation. First, my heart goes out to the victims. And my heart goes out to the mothers of those sons who are going to prison. I'm a mother. I have a son, and my heart goes out to them also," said Flowers.

The committee told WBRZ they plan to have more fundraisers in the coming months.

"We have been the group that gives back to our community, and we're going to continue giving back to our community," said Flowers.

Despite the violence, parade organizers hope the parade will continue in the future. They started a petition in support of keeping the decades-old tradition alive.