NEW ORLEANS — The city’s crime problem is quickly spiraling out of control, with crime in the French Quarter escalating. It comes after a shooting was captured on camera during the early hours of the morning. Residents and business owners are calling for the City to take action.
The video captured during the early hours of the morning shows two people arguing, the person on the bike then pulls out a gun and shoots the other. The shooting happened on St. Louis Street.
Joey DiFatta, owner of Lafitte’s Guest House and Bar says first it was the pandemic, now it's crime. He's calling for change.
"We have to fix It and fix it now,” DiFatta said. “It's very impactful. Because the small hotels, the restaurants, the bars, the art galleries, everyone will be affected if people think it's unsafe to come here. That’s what worries me the most.”
He said first there was the pandemic and now high crime.
“Now we have a crime issue to deal with, it’s really sad. It’s sad for businesses," DiFatta said.
Across the road from one of America’s oldest bars, which relies on tourism, he’s seeing fewer tourists and locals.
He went on to say he's seeing fewer locals.
“After about midnight it's very very slow. Before we would 2-3 a.m. in the morning,” DiFatta said.
Ken Davis, a visitor in town from Wisconsin says, the crime didn’t deter him from visiting, but he’s more vigilant.
“We decided to visit New Orleans for the day,” Davis said. “We were coming down during the daylight hours, early hours not during the evening.”
According to the New Orleans Police Department, there are currently 86 officers assigned to the French Quarter. That includes administrative staff, community liaisons, and detectives. Ideally, there should be 110 or more staff assigned to the area.
DiFatta is calling for a heightened police presence. "I blame that we don’t have the numbers of policemen we need... We need more men and women in uniform,” DiFatta said.