NEW ORLEANS — One person is dead and five more were wounded in a series of shootings spread across New Orleans, as the city is on track to finish the year with the nation's highest murder rate.
Wednesday night, at about 8:11 p.m., police responded to a shooting in the 4800 block of Viola Street in New Orleans East. There they found a 16-year-old with a gunshot wound, according to police.
Approximately two hours later, after the scene had been cleared, a second gunshot wound victim was found in the area. The victim was declared dead on the scene by EMS.
The NOPD is also investigating a shooting in the 2800 block of Josephine Street in Central City. Initial reports show a man with a gunshot wound was taken to the hospital by EMS. His condition is unknown. The shooting happened at around 8:32 p.m. Wednesday night.
The shootings continued into the following morning.
On Thursday, at about 2:08 a.m., NOPD officers responded to a shooting in the 3600 block of 4th Street in the Hoffman Triangle neighborhood. Initial police reports show a teenage juvenile female sustained a gunshot graze wound. Her condition is also unknown at this time.
Then, just 30 minutes later, the NOPD responded to a reported shooting at the intersection of Paris Avenue and Gentilly Boulevard in the Fairgrounds neighborhood. Investigators say a man was found with a gunshot wound. EMS took the victim to a local hospital. His condition is also unknown.
Drivers on the interstate are also not safe from New Orleans gun violence.
NOPD reports that at about 3:01 a.m. on Thursday, an adult male was shot on Interstate 10 East at Louisa Street. Police say the victim was transported by a private vehicle to a local hospital. Their condition is unknown.
This makes the third shooting victim in December alone on the stretch of I-10 from New Orleans East to Downtown New Orleans.
The series of shootings and homicides comes just one week into Interim Superintendent Michelle Woodfork assuming command of the New Orleans Police Department after Shaun Ferguson’s retirement.
The rash of fatal shootings in the final weeks of 2022 could push the city to become the leader of the nation’s murder rate; a position no city wants to be in.
According to crime data analyst Jeff Asher, it will be the first time the city topped that list since 2011. Asher reports the city is set to pass 70 homicides per 100,000 people.
Patrick Young, the Director of Gun Violence Prevention for the Mayor’s office says the goal is to eliminate the wild swings in gun violence.
“You’ve seen this rise and this decline and then this rise; how do we address it so we don’t have those ups and downs in years, but really study it to prevent it from happening to begin with,” Young said.
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