There were nine shooting incidents in New Orleans within a 24-hour period at the end of 2022. These incidents occurred amid a larger trend of over 700 shooting cases in the US over the past year, resulting in more than 700 deaths and 2,500 injuries.
The first shooting was reported at 11:30 a.m. on December 28, 2022. The homeowner shot the intruder, who was taken to the hospital and died.
The second shooting happened early morning, at 1:47 a.m. A man was shot several times after a fight and died on the way to the hospital.
The next shooting occurred at 8:11 p.m., leaving a 29-year-old man deceased on the scene after being shot in a vehicle by an unknown person. A 16-year-old man who was also shot was taken to the hospital.
Six other shooting incidents occurred afterward in different places within the city. These incidents took place at the intersection of Paris Avenue and Gentilly Boulevard, the area around Louisa Street, North Galvez Street, North Rocheblave Street, Josephine Street, and the 3600 block of 4th Street.
Most murders per capita
These shooting cases killed three people and made the media nickname New Orleans a “Murder Capital” as it earned the most murders per capita in 2022. Ironically, for over 25 years, violent crime cases in the Crescent City reached the “almost invisible” level.
In 2022, 277 murders were recorded in New Orleans, which is the most number of killings in the city since 1996. The city’s average shooting is between one to two cases a day. In addition, 37 female homicide victims were killed in 2022 in New Orleans.
According to Jeff Asher, a crime data analyst, it is the first time New Orleans has topped the highest murder rate in the nation’s list since 2011.
Throughout last year, New Orleans has seen around two shooting incidents a day. Almost every homicide in the city is attributed to gunfire. There were only 17 people killed in the city through stabbings and beatings.
“What you would normally see is the slap, kick, punch, has now turned into gunshots, using vehicles to run you over. It’s happening more often than it used to. We used to go months before seeing a gunshot victim. Now, we can get five in a week. That’s a lot.”
Misty Frye, Director of Client Services for the New Orleans Justice Center.
Less than a third of the people responsible for the murder in New Orleans have been arrested. Despite the drop in violence across various cities in the past year, the homicide rate in New Orleans has increased by almost 20 percent. This number supports Faye’s statement, saying that New Orleans is in “crisis mode”.
Increasing crimes can be caused by multiple reasons, and the driving factors Frye attributes include the pandemic, price increases and natural disasters.
Michael Woodfork, NOPD Interim Superintendent, realizes they must do something during the crisis. Woodford said it is time for the NOPD to approach policing differently.
“You have to hit all six pillars of policing to the 21st century. Building trust with community, legitimacy, education, and training, safety and wellness of your officers, social media and technology I’m going to bring all this and more to the police department,” Woodfork said.
The Family Justice Center has been working on the Advocate Initiated Response Program and will partner with NOPD to get to victims quicker.
“It’s for us to be able to get to victims and be a support to the police department as well to get to victims quicker than what we are at this time,” Frye said.
Along with NOPD, the Family Justice Center also has been working with community agencies to serve victims and their families.