What was supposed to be a night to celebrate all things Star Wars, unfortunately gave into the shroud of the dark side for some of the revelers.
Quennell Foster says he was eating at restaurant near the parade and says as he and his friends were leaving, one of the people in the group who went out ahead quickly came running back in.
“My friend yelled all the cars are hit and I was thinking he was exaggerating. Sure enough I go out, all the cars were hit,” says Foster.
Foster says he recently moved back to New Orleans, but with crime continuing to plague the city, he expressed that he doesn’t know how much longer he can stay.
“I’m not going to say that that crime and the situations are going to make me leave, it just really puts me in a condition of am I really safe here?” says Foster.
25 year New Orleans resident Lom Hassen says he hates hearing about people wanting to leave the city, mainly because he says it will only make way for more short-term rentals.
“I think the crime is directly linked to that,” says Hassen.
He says the influx of tourist vacationing in Marigny short terms rentals makes the neighborhood an easy target. Furthermore, he says it weakens the ability for strong community to be formed.
“It weakens our ability to work together and work with NOPD to curve these crimes in our neighborhood,” he says.
Kitty Collins who lives and works in the neighborhood agrees with Hassen about short term rentals, but she doesn’t share her friend’s optimism.
Collins says it’s because she feels city leaders don’t care about The Marigny.
“Look at our streets, look at our police force. We didn’t have enough for Chewbacchus to do it’s whole parade, but the Mayor’s parade has fully staffed for a 60 block parade that says a lot to me.”
looks like the answers to solve crime in New Orleans remain far far away.
RELATED: Cantrell said she personally tried to help steer suspected killer, carjacker away from crime