THIS HAS TO STOP! 16 shootings over Mardi Gras

Just saw this article on nola.com. Was anyone else aware that there were 16 shootings during carnival? And the last two (from yesterday) happened right near where I (and a lot of other people I know) work. Great. I guess I have to watch my back going to Juan's to get a burrito and be ready to hit the deck. This is fucking ridiculous.


Latest murder comes on the heels of a violent Carnival
by Laura Maggi and Brendan McCarthy, Times-Picayune
Thursday February 07, 2008, 6:43 AM
A gunman opened fire Wednesday morning and killed a 26-year-old man driving a rental car in the Lower Garden District, sending the car careening into a nearby building.

The fatal shooting, the 21st murder in New Orleans this year, occurred closely on the heels of a trying Carnival season for police, one in which four people were murdered and 12 others injured in shootings in the past five days, according to police records.

In broad daylight Wednesday, with people standing outside, Edward Causey, 26, of New Orleans, drove a white Pontiac sedan eastbound on Annunciation Street about 10:30 a.m., authorities said.

When he reached the intersection at St. Mary Street, a waiting man sprayed his vehicle with gunfire, said New Orleans police officer Sabrina Richardson. Causey's car continued for several blocks and hit a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser heading north on Felicity Street, police said. The Pontiac came to a stop yards later after it crashed through the wall of an abandoned building.

The driver of the PT Cruiser was not injured. No one else was inside Causey's car, which was registered to a rental agency, police said.

The shooting and crash attracted dozens of neighborhood residents to the scene. Causey slumped at the wheel, bleeding from a single gunshot wound to the back.

New Orleans Emergency Medical Service workers said Causey was dead at the scene. The Orleans Parish coroner's office pulled Causey from the car and later released his identity.

About 80 minutes after the murder, Irish Channel residents reported a drive-by shooting in the 700 block of Washington Avenue. Residents told police the occupant of a passing car sprayed gunfire in the middle of the block. No one was injured.

Violent Carnival weekend

Causey's murder came after a violent weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, police found the body of Terry Robinson, 26, in a vacant lot near the corner of North Johnson and Montegut streets. An official with the Orleans Parish coroner's office said it appeared Robinson had been shot the night before.

Allen Porche, 24, was shot several times on a Lower 9th Ward street late Saturday afternoon.

A day later, police found Jadace Craft, 24, about 1 a.m. on the sidewalk in the 1600 block of Marigny Street with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

Javonte Morgan, 15, was fatally shot about 9:45 p.m. while sitting in a car in the 1700 block of North Galvez Street during a fight at a fast-food restaurant.

Gunshots injure 12

In addition, 12 people were injured in shootings in the past five days, according to police records.

-- Saturday at 1:30 a.m., at the corner of Basin and Canal streets, a man was shot in the arm during what police described as a drug deal.

-- Just after the Endymion parade passed the corner of Canal and Baronne streets, three men and two women were shot. Two men were arrested at the scene.

-- On Sunday just after 2 a.m., a man was shot in the chest and arm at 900 Common St. He was taken to the hospital, according to a police log.

-- A man was shot Monday morning just after midnight after opening his door in the 2600 block of North Tonti Street. After answering the door, he argued with someone and wrestled over a gun. The man was shot in the left arm, according to a police log.

-- Two men were shot Monday about 1:22 a.m. near the corner of Canal and Bourbon streets. One was shot on the right side, another was shot in his calf, according to police records.

-- Later Monday, at 5:21 a.m., a man was hit by a bullet near North Dorgenois and St. Ann streets. As he was walking, he heard shots, according to a police log. He later noticed he was shot in the hand.

-- Tuesday, at about 5:30 p.m., shots broke out along the parade route at St. Charles Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, although no people were injured, Richardson said. It was the latest in a string of non-fatal shootings near crowded parade routes.

A group of officers standing near the route saw a young man shoot a gun, Richardson said. They chased him for a half block before catching him. The suspect, 16, was caught with the gun in his hand, Richardson said.

-- On Tuesday about 10 p.m., a 23-year-old man driving his vehicle in the Irish Channel was shot in the head about eight blocks from the scene of the Wednesday morning murder. According to a police description of the Tuesday night incident, the man was shot after a dark vehicle stopped near 2338 St. Thomas St. Several men got out of the vehicle and opened fire, striking the man once in the back of his head, the police log stated.

The men fled, while the victim was taken to University Hospital. The victim, who has spoken to detectives, is in critical but stable condition, said Sgt. Joseph Narcisse, commander of the NOPD's public affairs unit.

Later that evening, shots were fired near the corner of Soniat and Tchoupitoulas streets, Narcisse said, but nobody was hit.