NEW ORLEANS — This weekend saw back-to-back violent incidents on Bourbon Street. One worker said it wasn't a surprise to hear about gunshots and a stabbing early Sunday morning.
"It's just a regular day," said Giovanni Santiago, who works on Bourbon Street.
He learned a gun discharged on the 300 block of Bourbon just after midnight Sunday. Santiago wasn't surprised.
"No not at all," he said. "It's just normal life out here."
He's been working on Bourbon Street for three years.
"On Bourbon, I've been shot at a few times," Santiago said.
The French Quarter is in Councilmember Freddie King's district.
"That's unfortunate. I hate for anyone in the city to feel like it's just part of living or working in the city to be shot at or have bullets going by when you're trying to do your job, but just know things are being done. I have the utmost confidence in our police officers in 8th district and our superintendent I believe them when they are working to resolve the crime issue in this city," King said.
According to the NOPD 8th district commander, a man tried to pistol whip another man when his gun discharged. There is a warrant for his arrest.
A Metairie man who was on Bourbon St. heard the gunshot and then started firing himself, according to the 8th district commander. No one was hurt. The man was arrested.
"From what I heard, security had an argument with a customer, and a customer started shooting at him," Santiago said.
"A guy got into it with a bouncer in a bar. A fight broke out and kind of bled out into the streets, and in the mix of the hustle and bustle, a gun was accidentally discharged," King said.
Then just before 5 a.m. Sunday on the 400 block of Bourbon, two men got into a verbal fight that turned physical, according to police. A group of men started attacking one of the men and then stabbed him multiple times. He was taken to a hospital.
"It may have been people who known each other, so it wasn’t a random act of violence from my understanding," King said.
King said crime is not just a Bourbon issue, but he's confident the city will move in a safer direction.
"I believe we're going to get our crime issue, not only in Bourbon, not only in the French Quarter but in the city under control," King said. "I don’t know if these incidents were a result of or perpetrated by juveniles or youth, but I believe we need to get to the root cause of our issues and that is addressing our youth early before they become involved in crime. Be mentors and show them love and affection early."
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