NEW ORLEANS – A man who had set his home on fire and then holed himself inside surrendered to police late Thursday.
The incident began after a deputy with the Constable’s Office served him an eviction notice around 11:30 a.m. in the 4800 block of Tchoupitoulas.
According to police, the man inside the home told the deputy trying to deliver the eviction notice to hold a minute, while never opening door. The deputy then saw smoke coming from the home and called 911. When the fire department arrived, according to police, the man fired at the firefighters.
Craig Marx, who lives close to the scene, saw it all happen.
“I was sleeping, and one of the tenants in the building was knocking on the door and said there was a fire,” Marx said. “I got up, ran out, didn’t put any shoes on. And right around the front of the building, we were all watching this, there was a fire coming out of the doorway.
"Firefighters showed up, they kicked in the door, they ran in and all of a sudden we heard gunfire. Then they came running out. Police showed up, this guy had an assault rifle, and everyone was pushed off to the side of the street.”
WWL-TV Reporter Susan Edwards said that the man did a phone interview with Times-Picayune Reporter Ramon Vargas, during which he said, “I’m old. I’m fat. I’m not living on the street. Today is as good a day as any to die.”
Police evacuated the neighborhood and blocked off all streets between Magazine and Tchoupitoulas, cordoning off the area, fearing what might happen next.
“We don’t know a lot about the subject that’s in the house, but we do know we’re going to try and negotiate to try and make this a safe ending,” said NOPD spokesman Bob Young.
Many were trapped outside of their neighborhoods, waiting to get home; others were driven by curiosity toward flashing lights and sirens.
“I feel sorry for the person, because we don’t know if he lost his job or something,” said one resident on the scene. “And this is the results of it. Because if he had the time to think, maybe he wouldn’t have done this.”
