crime

Armed robber strikes twice Monday morning in Garden District

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Two people walking along Coliseum Street in the Garden District were confronted by an armed robber within minutes of one another early Monday, police said. About 7:55 a.m., a 60-year-old woman was walking on Second Street near Coliseum when she was approached by a stranger pulled a long gun from his waistband and demanded her purse, police said. The woman began screaming and ran to a nearby home to call police, and the gunman took off back down Second, police said. About 15 minutes later, a 25-year-old man was walking his dog near on Coliseum near Fourth when he was confronted by a man who unzipped his windbreaker to reveal a long gun in his front waistband, police said. The robber told the victim to empty his pockets, but the victim said he didn’t have any pockets in his gym shorts, so the gunman patted him down and then told him to turn around and walk away, police said.

crime

Driver arrested after shooting spree in Touro neighborhood

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A convicted felon who allegedly drove through the Touro neighborhood firing at residents from his pickup truck was arrested early Wednesday and may be tried on federal gun charges, police said. Two women were sitting on the porch of a home near the intersection of Marengo and Coliseum streets about 11:50 p.m. Tuesday when a yellow pickup driving down the road slowed down and the driver fired a gun out the window at them, said Lt. Mike Montalbano of the NOPD Second District investigative unit. As he drove away, the driver continued shooting, Montalbano said. Police stopped the truck about a block away on Constantinople and found a gun and 13 spent shell casings inside, said Detective Guy Swalm, the second district’s firearms investigator. The driver, 29-year-old Jesse McKinney, was initially charged with aggravated assault and illegal discharge of a weapon, police said.