US: The British singer-songwriter Ray Davies of the Kinks has been shot and wounded in the leg by a mugger in New Orleans. The musician was recovering yesterday after being released from hospital.
Davies (59), who became a CBE in the New Year's honours list, was strolling through the French Quarter at around 8.30 p.m. on Sunday night after dinner at a local restaurant with a woman friend when two men approached them.
The men grabbed the woman's handbag and ran off through the streets. The singer ran off in pursuit of the men, one of whom turned and fired, wounding him slightly in the leg.
Sgt Paul Accardo of the New Orleans police department said yesterday that one man, named as Mr Jerome Barra, had been arrested and would be charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery. A second man was being sought, he said. Sgt Accardo said the man was not arrested at the scene but was tracked down after an investigation. Davies was treated in a local hospital and released, Sgt Accardo added. His companion, whose identity was not released by police, was not injured. New Orleans has a high crime rate, particularly in the French Quarter, which is very popular with tourists.