The city of New Orleans has seen nine shooting incidents in a span of just 24 hours that has left three people dead, a tragedy that comes at a time when the number of homicides happening in the city is at a level unseen in over a quarter century.
The first incident took place on Dec. 28 at around 11:30 a.m. when the police received a call about a shooting at a residence in Algiers. On arrival, they found that an armed intruder was shot down by the homeowner. The intruder was taken to a hospital where he died.
Around 1:47 p.m., the police responded to a second shooting in the French Quarter. They found a man who was shot several times following an altercation. Though taken to a hospital, the man later died.
At 8:11 p.m., two people were shot in the Plum Orchard neighborhood. A 29-year-old man inside a vehicle was shot at by an unknown assailant. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A 16-year-old male, who was also shot, was taken to the hospital.
In addition to these incidents, shootings also occurred in North Galvez Street, North Rocheblave Street, Josephine Street, 3600 block of 4th Street, the intersection of Paris Avenue and Gentilly Boulevard, and near Louisa Street.
“2022 ends with New Orleans as America’s Murder Capital with the most killings per capita. Violent crime in the Crescent City has reached levels not seen in more than 25 years,” said news outlet LaRadioNetwork in a tweet on Dec. 30.
Crime in New Orleans
So far this year, New Orleans has reported at least 277 killings, which is the highest since 1996. According to crime data analyst Jeff Asher, New Orleans is set to have the highest homicide rate in the United States in 2022. In addition, 37 women have been killed this year, which is the highest annual number since 1996 as well.
In an interview with 4WWL, Misty Frye, Director of Client Services with the New Orleans Family Justice Center said that they were in a “crisis mode” and that violence against women is becoming more severe.
“What you would normally see is the slap, kick, punch, has now turned into gunshots, using vehicles to run you over. It’s happening more often than it used to. We used to go months before seeing a gunshot victim. Now, we can get five in a week. That’s a lot,” Frye said.
She attributes factors like COVID-19, inflation, the state of the economy, and natural disasters to the spike in crime rates. If citizens in the region do not come together and strategize how to deal with the matter, things could get worse, Frye warned.
Dealing With Crime
News of the latest shootings come as New Orleans Mayor Democrat LaToya Cantrell is facing intense criticism for her failure to rein in crime in the city. All mayors in New Orleans have been Democrats since 1872. Eileen Carter, who is leading a recall effort against Cantrell, insists that the current mayor is unfit to govern the region.
“The city is her responsibility … drive around the city … read the crime stats … the condition of the city has nothing to do with being a black woman & everything to do with her poor leadership & skill set … she IS NOT the woman for this hour to help NOLA … unfortunately,” Carter said in a Dec. 29 tweet. NOLA refers to New Orleans, Louisiana.
New Orleans has seen two shooting incidents per day on average for the year, with almost every killing in the city attributable to gunfire. Just 17 people were killed through means like beatings and stabbings.
Only less than a third of the murders have resulted in an arrest.
While many places have seen a drop in violence in the past year, homicides in New Orleans have risen by almost 20 percent.
From The Epoch Times
