By Kenny Kuhn | WWL-TV | May 15, 2023

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NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Police Department is investigating four separate shootings that left three people dead and one wounded Sunday night, two of those shootings happened just minutes apart from each other.

The first was a shooting in the 2300 block of Toledano Street. Police say officers found a man who was shot at the location. He was transported by EMS to a local hospital. His condition is unknown at this time.

Then less than ten minutes later, a fatal shooting happened in the 3300 block of South Saratoga which left one man dead.

That homicide happened at about 10:37 p.m. Sunday according to an NOPD report.

When responding officers arrived on the scene at South Saratoga they found an adult male unresponsive and lying on the sidewalk. Investigators say the man sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the body and was pronounced dead on the scene.

Then, at about 2:57 a.m. on Monday, another homicide investigation is underway in the 2100 block of Perdido Street.

Investigators say in that incident, a security officer patrolling in the area observed a suspicious vehicle sitting idle with the door open. The vehicle had crashed into a utility pole. When the security guard investigated the crashed vehicle an unresponsive male victim with a gunshot wound was discovered alongside the vehicle. The victim was declared dead at the scene by EMS. That investigation is also ongoing.

The NOPD is also investigating a homicide that left one man dead in the 4500 block of Marque Drive Sunday evening. Investigators say 27-year-old Kevin Jackson was arrested in connection to that investigation.

Crime is trending downward

These recent shootings that left three people dead and one wounded are just the latest violent crime incidents to happen as New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Metropolitan Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche say that crime data reports show crime is trending in a downward direction.

According to the crime commission’s Orleans Crime Trends 2019-2023, as of May 7, overall crime data shows a downward trend across all categories of violent crime.

While the report shows there were 91 homicides year to date, down 15% compared to 2022, it is still a 122% increase when compared to 2019.

“I’d caution our viewers to put this in the proper context, because, when we’re showing a decrease in violent crime this year versus last year we’re comparing this year with the worst year from a violent crime perspective in the past 30 years,” Goyeneche said in a video posted to social media last week.

“So if you compare this year with 2019, which was the safest crime levels that we’ve experienced over the past 30 plus years, we’re up appreciably so the standard shouldn’t be how do we compare with the worst crime year in our history but how do we get back to 2019 when the city was much safer.”

In an interview on WWLTV’s Eyewitness Morning News, New Orleans City Council Vice President Helena Moreno says she acknowledges the city has a gun violence problem and says better gun laws are needed.

“There’s a couple of things that I think need to be done. One is no doubt about it, we need stronger gun laws in the state of Louisiana. But that’s tough in the Louisiana legislature. What I do think we need is enforcement of the current gun laws that we have. Felons who should not have firearms, we need to go after those individuals in particular,” Moreno said.

“But there’s another piece to and it’s kind of thinking outside the box. And that has to do with domestic violence. And you’re probably like — Helena why are you talking about domestic violence? The reason why I say that is when it comes to domestic violence, those that have aggravated charges, meaning they used a weapon, or meaning they strangled their victim, they tried to strangle their victim. Those are some of the most dangerous individuals that we have in the city. And there are very strong laws, some that I created, where we can go after these individuals and make sure that they don’t have a firearm.”