NEW ORLEANS — Pro-active police patrols are paying off with over 2,000 guns confiscated across the districts so far this year, 254 arrests were made on Bourbon Street alone says New Orleans Police Department Eighth District Commander, Hans Ganthier.
Over this past Halloween weekend from Friday, Oct. 28 to Monday 31, Commander Ganthier says NOPD officers patrolling the Eighth District arrested 39 individuals for illegally carrying guns, 33 of those arrests came from officers patrolling Bourbon Street during the busy Halloween weekend.
Ganthier made the announcement during a press conference Friday as the high-powered semi-automatic handguns were displayed on a table before him.
“The guns on that table not only represent someone who was arrested for illegally carrying a firearm, but that arrest possibly prevented a potential shooting, a potential homicide, as well as being a safety concern to our residents and our visitors in the French Quarter,” Commander Ganthier said.
He also says in the Eighth District alone, officers made 333 gun arrests this year with 254 of those arrests being made on Bourbon Street. He adds 55 felons were arrested on Bourbon Street for illegally carrying a gun.
Ganthier says the arrests are a result of better proactive patrolling of Bourbon Street by officers trained to spot the signs of someone carrying a gun and making the arrest.
This comes as the Metropolitan Crime Commission reports a slight dip in shootings in the 8th District. Crime statistics show as of October 23, there were 21 shootings in the 8th District this year, down from 30 shootings in 2021.