A 14-year-old boy who allegedly stole a handgun from a car in the Garden District and then committed two different shootings in Central City was arrested Friday, New Orleans police said.
The boy, whose name is not being released because of his age, was linked by detectives to a vehicle burglary reported in the 1400 block of Third Street on June 8. according to NOPD reports. A woman parked her 2017 Nissan Sentra on the street for a week on June 2 and returned June 8 to find it had been broken into, and handgun she had left in the glove compartment was missing, the report notes.
Shortly before 11 p.m. June 9, two people were shot near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and South Claiborne Avenue, the reports state. A man was shot in the leg, and a woman was shot in the wrist after hearing gunfire coming from nearby Felicity Street, the reports state.
Around 10:30 p.m. June 15, a man was on a front porch in the 2400 block of Thalia Street with several other people when they heard gunshots, and he was hit in the leg, the report states. Witnesses reported seeing a gray, four-door car with two people in the front and one in the back firing at the victim, the report states.
NOPD Sixth District detectives identified the 14-year-old boy as the suspect in the car break-in and then both shootings, and he was arrested Friday morning from the 3500 block of Louisiana Avenue on charges of illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile and three counts of aggravated battery by shooting, the report states. His two accomplices in the Thalia Street shooting “remain at large,” the report states.
Anyone with information is urged to call the NOPD Sixth District station at 658-6060 to speak to a detective, or CrimeStoppers at 822-1111 to leave an anonymous tip that could be eligible for a cash reward.
