19-year-old shot to death in Central City

A 19-year-old man was killed in Central City on Wednesday, the New Orleans Police Department reported. NOPD Sixth District officers responded to a call of shots fired in the 1300 block of South Saratoga Street, near Thalia Street, at about 5:10 p.m.. Upon arrival, officers found the victim, later identified as Gerren Green, unresponsive with a gunshot wound. Medical responders declared Green dead at the scene, and the incident was reclassified as a homicide. He was 19.

Teenager, three adults injured in Central City shooting

Four people, including a 14-year-old boy and a 64-year-old woman, were shot in Central City on Monday, the New Orleans Police Department reported. The quadruple shooting occurred at about 8:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of Freret Street, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Sixth District officers responding to reports of an aggravated battery by shooting discovered multiple victims who were struck by gunfire. The teenager suffered a graze wound to the ankle during this incident. An adult male sustained a graze wound to the head, and another man sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Viewpoint: Candidates meet the moment with redefined campaigns

Armed with push cards, customized face masks and signs, judicial candidate Rhonda Goode-Douglas spent Saturday morning greeting voters outside Congregation Coffee Roasters in Algiers. On Saturday afternoon, her opponent Derwyn Bunton posed with his wife Eileen and daughters Chloe and Reilly for photographs and video that will be used in social media. Both candidates would have attended the annual AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in City Park today – always a highlight of the fall political season – had it not been canceled. 

While Labor Day signals the beginning of the final two-month stretch before the Nov. 3 elections, New Orleans candidates up and down the ballot are continually adjusting to the new normal of campaigning during COVID-19. 

“I came to this coffee shop because I wanted to meet the residents of Algiers Point,” said Goode-Douglas, a defense attorney who is running for Criminal District Court judge, Section E. “It’s difficult to spread our message and touch the community without being able to campaign door-to-door. We are dropping literature at people’s houses, but we are not ringing their bells.”  

“Trying to win an election during a pandemic requires extra creativity as well as a heavy reliance on technology and social media,” said Bunton, Orleans Parish’s chief public defender and also a candidate for Criminal District Court Section E. “The usual canvassing, meet-and-greets and handshaking can literally place you, your volunteers and potential voters in danger, so we are being respectful and following the science.” 

“Campaigns used to be about visiting people, but now they are all about content for social media,” said Ray Reggie, who has 36 years’ experience on political campaigns.

Armed robbery suspect detained by victim, bystanders

An armed robbery suspect was arrested early Sunday after he was held by the robbery victim and a group of bystanders in Hollygrove, the New Orleans Police Department reported. The victim, a 45-year-old man, was approached by a gunman at about 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 6 in the 2600 block of Eagle Street. The gunman demanded the victim’s property, but he resisted, resulting in a physical altercation. Some bystanders stepped in, and the suspect was detained until officers arrived.

Suspect arrested running from scene of Central City homicide

The New Orleans Police Department apprehended a suspect fleeing the scene of a fatal shooting in Central City. On Friday around 10:25 a.m., Sixth District officers were on patrol near Clio Street and Rev. John Raphael Jr. Way when they heard a single gunshot. Officers discovered an adult male victim lying in the street in the 1200 block of Rev. John Raphael Jr. Way. The Emergency Medical Service was called, and the medical responders pronounced him dead at the scene. The victim was later identified as Cedric Simmons Jr. Simmons was 34.

Neighbors hold nightly vigils in solidarity with Black Lives Matter

Protests and demonstrations calling for social justice have continued across the country for months now, including here in New Orleans. Every night, groups in neighborhoods throughout the city come together at 6 p.m. on-the-dot to silently kneel, sit or stand for nine minutes to demand justice for George Floyd, who was murdered by police officers in late May, and to show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The Kneeling for 9 Minutes movement is bringing together neighbors from all walks of life and various backgrounds who all want to see our country make more progress toward ending systemic racism and creating a more just and equitable society,” said resident Angie Breidenstine, an organizer of one of the Uptown nightly vigils. “Meeting every night is a way to keep the issues visible and central–for ourselves and for our community.”

Live explosive found in Broadmoor neighborhood

The New Orleans Police Department in coordination with the FBI disposed of a live explosive device found in a Broadmoor area home on Sept. 1. At around 3:40 p.m., Second District officers responded to a home in the 4100 block of Walmsley Avenue after a hand grenade was discovered in a garage by family members cleaning out the home of a deceased relative. At that time, homes near the location were evacuated and a safety perimeter was set up as the NOPD and FBI bomb squads responded. Upon further investigation, the device was determined to be a military-grade explosive.