By Natasha Robin | WVUE | December 7, 2021
NEW ORLEANS – Two men got into a crash on the South Clairborne overpass around 9:30 p.m. on Monday. Before police could arrive, three armed men showed up.
“Obviously, the suspects were just looking for victims,” says Rafael Goyeneche.
The suspects robbed the victims and shot both men before leaving. The two victims were grazed by bullets.
“Not only did they rob them of their cell phones and cash, but they fired a firearm and wounded two people,” says Goyeneche.
Before that happened, police investigated an armed robbery along Chef Menteur Highway, and then at 3:30 a.m., police say a group of five suspects carjacked a man and woman in City Park on Dreyfous Drive.
“Those are the scenarios that play out every day and every night in this city. The police are overwhelmed. We have reached a critical mass point for the police department,” says Goyeneche.
Rafael says the NOPD has lost about 140 officers this year.
“They’ve hired forty. The city counts those 40 officers as police officers that were hired this year, but they’re still in the police academy and some are still in training,” says Goyeneche.
Violent crime across New Orleans is up 11%. Chief Ferguson says carjackings, like the one that unfolded in City Park overnight, are the most concerning.
“Over the last month, it definitely increased, but we’ve made several arrests. Sixteen arrests were made and one warrant to obtain another individual,” says Chief Ferguson.