NEW ORLEANS — A rash of gun violence across New Orleans hospitalized seven people in the 24 hours from noon Friday to midday Saturday, underscoring that the high level of violence in the city has not disappeared as 2020 fades into the past.
The first of the shootings happened in the 6000 block of Chef Menteur Highway Friday afternoon. the New Orleans Police Department reported at 4:37 p.m. that two victims had been taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds: one shot in the foot, the other in the face.
Around four hours later, a second, seemingly unrelated shooting at the intersection of Morrison Road and Alabama Street injured a third victim. This time, the man was shot in the wrist.
Just before 9:45 p.m., a man was shot multiple times in the 1500 block of South Liberty Street and taken to the hospital.
At 11:35 p.m., according to police, a fight escalated to gunfire in the 100 block of Carondelet Street.
A suspect in the shooting, described as a Black woman in her early 30s with long straight black hair, reportedly goes by the nickname "Skully."
Another woman, "Peaches," was reportedly involved in the fight that led to the shooting and fled the scene with the suspect. She is described as a black woman in her early 30s with long straight black hair with several tattoos on her hands and chest
The pair reportedly fled in an older model, burgundy Nissan Altima with a temporary license plate.
The victim in that shooting was taken to the hospital by private vehicle, with an "unspecified gunshot wound," according to NOPD officials.
Shortly before midnight, Chef Menteur Highway saw even more bloodshed: a report of a man with multiple gunshot wounds in the 8500 block of the street. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Saturday morning, the shootings continued with another in the 1400 block of Behrman Avenue around 12:41 a.m. The male victim in that shooting was taken to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
Police later determined that the early Saturday shooting had happened during an armed robbery of the victim.
And at 11:35 a.m., the eighth victim of gun-related violence was reported in the 2600 block of Clover Street. Initial reports from the NOPD indicate the victim was shot in the buttocks and taken to the hospital.
In total, two people have already been shot to death in New Orleans in 2021.
Last year, more than 200 homicides were reported in the city, with an overwhelming majority of them dying from gunshot wounds.
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