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Tag: Violence

What Happened to That Boy?

Published by Editor B on Saturday, 3 October 2009

Note: The title’s a lyrical reference to a New Orleans hip-hop track, and of course there’s a (NSFW) mix if you want some musical accompaniment to what follows.

NOLA Hop from editor_b on 8tracks Radio.

It is rare for me to remove a post from my blog but it has happened a few times over the years. The most recent case involves something I posted on Wednesday, February 7th, 2007. I am reproducing that post below along with the comments that it attracted. The reprint is verbatim identical to the original with one important exception: I’ve removed the name of the young man in question, and replaced his name with his initials. The old post had become the number one search result for this man’s name. If you read it all, you’ll see why I removed it from its original location. I’ll include a further comment of my own at the end.

Continue readingWhat Happened to That Boy?

Shots Fired

Published by Editor B on Tuesday, 16 December 2008

My sleep is interrupted by the peal of a semiautomatic weapon being discharged. Three spurts. Close by. I’m too groggy to check the time but it feels like midnight or two in the morning. Did someone just arrange another funeral? Did someone’s son (or daughter) meet their untimely end? But there’s only silence afterward, no shouts, no sirens. Maybe someone was just firing into the air for the hell of it. I drift back to sleep, uneasy, but too tired to care.

Continue readingShots Fired

Drive-By

Published by Editor B on Friday, 8 August 2008

A friend of mine posted the following on our neighborhood discussion group:

I was working at my other house I am renovating tonight around 8:50 pm. Rendon/Conti St. Heard four/five shots fired. Looked out the back door as the shooter sped off. Shortly after I heard the cries across the street and realized someone was shot. It seems a baby was shot in the arm instead of whoever they meant to shoot. That puts me within 200′ of two drive by’s within two nights. Real scary. I heard they know who did it so I guess that means at least another drive by the next couple of nights. Street justice they call it. What a shame.

This happened about three blocks from us.

315-17 N Rendon

Here’s the story from the Times-Picayune:

2-year-old girl shot in Mid-City

By Leslie Williams, The Times-Picayune
Thursday August 07, 2008, 10:29 PM

A 2-year old girl was shot in the arm shortly before 9 p.m. in Mid-City, according to police and neighbors.

She was taken to a local hospital, said Officer Shereese Harper, a spokeswoman for the New Orleans Police Department. Her condition was not immediately available.

The shooting occurred at 315 N. Rendon St., a pink double not far from the intersection of Bienville and N. Rendon streets, police said.

“I heard about four or five shots,” said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified. “When I came outside, I saw a two-door silver car speed by.”

The neighbor said he later pointed out two cartridges on the asphalt in the 300 block of North Rendon to police who arrived at the scene.

A woman started crying and yelling once she realized the child was injured, neighbors said.

Harper said police are trying to determine the motive for the shooting and identify suspects.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers, which is offering a reward of as much as $2,500 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case. The telephone number is 504.822.1111 or toll-free at 1.877.903.7867.

Leslie Williams can be reached at lwilliams@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3358.

Stuff like this scares me.

Continue readingDrive-By

48 Hours

Published by Editor B on Friday, 12 October 2007

48 Hours Mystery will be running a show this weekend about Helen Hill and Dinerral Shavers and the general topic of violence in New Orleans.

I spoke to the producers a couple of times. One producer told me he was disappointed by the seeming resignation of most of the people they’d interviewed. He was hoping I might bring the rage. I must not have sounded angry enough, though, because in the end they never interviewed me.

Here’s their press release:

Continue reading48 Hours