NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police reported at least 16 murders in January during 15 separate incidents, data compiled by WWL-TV shows.
The first murder took place 14 hours after the new year was rung in, when 22-year-old Hakeem Smith was killed in the 10900 block of Willowbrae Drive in New Orleans East, a residential neighborhood.
Like the other 15 victims, Smith was shot to death.
Averaged out, the numbers reflect the equivalent of a murder every two days. But incidents appeared to take place in loose clusters throughout January.
From Jan. 1 to Jan. 6, seven people were killed in six separate shootings. And from Jan. 23 through Jan. 27, police reported nearly one murder per day in New Orleans.
The data indicates there was an eight-day stretch from Jan. 12 through Jan. 19 where no murders were reported.
The ages of the victims ranged from 19 to 70 years old.
Suspects have been arrested in at least two of the murders, that of 28-year-old Walmart Employee London McKnight and of 70-year-old Lloyd Vanderhorst Sr., who was killed during a home invasion.
Police booked Kentrell Banks 21, for the Walmart murder and 34-year-old Azemore Joseph for the home invasion slaying.
In 2019, New Orleans posted a declining murder rate for the third time in as many years. Jeff Asher, an analyst who works with the city on crime data, said his records showed about 119 murders for 2019. The number isn't exact because a cyberattack in December crippled public access to crime data.
The last time New Orleans had a lower murder count was in 1971, when 116 homicides were reported in the city.
New Orleans has been regularly listed on lists of the deadliest cities in the U.S. Since the city was first cited as the "murder capital of America" in 1994, the number of reported by NOPD has been historically high. For a span of nearly two decades, from 1994 to 2013, the city averaged more than 250 murders annually.
If murders continue at the rate they were reported in January, New Orleans would see as many as 192 homicides over the course of 2020, bucking the trend of lowering murder rates for the past three years.
The data for this story comes from NOPD officials, who generally report murders to media outlets through press releases and daily summaries of major crimes.
Ed. Note: There were 16 murders in New Orleans in January, not 17. One of the victims was shot on Jan. 23 and died the next day. The incident was double-counted in our data because of this.
Figures throughout this story have been updated to reflect the correct numbers.
More Stories:
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.
