NEW ORLEANS — Just a little over two weeks into the new year and more than 400 vehicles have been stolen across the city of New Orleans, that's an average of more than 23 vehicles every day.
Stephanie Foote had her 2020 Hyundai Elantra stolen on Sunday,
“I never thought it would never happen to me,” Foote told Eyewitness News. “I was driving over to my boyfriend’s house, we were going to go get dinner in the French Quarter. After we left, we were walking back to my car and I realized my car wasn’t there.”
She’s one of 404 people who’ve had their cars stolen across the city this year alone. A 173% increase from this time two years ago.
“It weighs heavy on me, I am a single mum. I need my car. It’s a necessity. It provides for my family," Foote said.
According to the City of New Orleans, most car thefts happen here in the CBD. There have been 115 so far this year. As opposed to 63 this time last year. That’s an 82.5% increase.
Wednesday morning, City Council is meeting for a special session focused on violent crime prevention. It includes a list of resolutions like pushing for the enforcement of the juvenile curfew hoping to slow down the crime surge.
"The reality is that as elected officials across the city of New Orleans, we all own the crime problem. It’s not unique to the mayor. It’s not unique to the council. I agree with residents and their frustration. They don’t care who solves it, as long as it’s solved," Councilman JP Morell said. "We have waited since last January and February for there to be a crime plan driven by the mayor or then Chief Ferguson that the council could support. We are still waiting for a crime plan that we can absorb, have a dialogue and support."
According to NOPD, last year there were 4400 car thefts. Of those 4400 thefts, 559 involved a Hyundai and 482 involved a Kia.
“The counts of auto theft incidents started climbing in late July and reached a monthly high of 573 incidents for December, in which 57% of the involved vehicles were either a Kia or Hyundai. The data indicates this increase in auto thefts can be traced to the Kia & Hyundai TikTok Hack,” the NOPD said.
“I love New Orleans, I love my city. I have been here 20 years. It's just hard, it's disheartening,” Foote said.
She is now one of the hundreds of victims of New Orleans crime at the very start of a new year.