NEW ORLEANS — A local funeral home president is speaking about what he's seeing when it comes to gun violence across town. It seems more and more innocent people are being shot and killed and those at funeral homes say it's no easy task to prepare their family to say goodbye.
"We have six families we're seeing today, and I think three are violent deaths and it's getting to be the cycle," said Louis Charbonnet III. "(It's becoming) the norm and that shouldn't be."
Charbonnet is the president of Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home in New Orleans. He's been in the business for a long time, but over the past year or so, it's taken a devastating turn.
"This year we've buried 8-10 children, babies who've been in the crossfire," he said. "It's crazy what's going on. It saddens us quite a bit. I mean, I don't mind burying people of age who've lived a good life, but the fact is, when we bury people 21, 19, 12 it's saddening."
Charbonnet feels gun violence in the city is out of hand. People, he says, are killing innocent men, women and children and they see what it's doing to families almost on a daily basis.
"It's hard for us as funeral directors," he said.
He also see what it's doing to the victims. He spoke about what happens when someone is shot by a semi-automatic firearm.
"When the bullet enters your body it doesn't go through you when it hits your body. It tears you up," he said. "And we're seeing that all the time, all the time. Sometimes we can't make [the person] presentable, we have to suggest to keep the casket closed and we're finding more and more funerals are closed caskets."
He's also having to order caskets in smaller sizes, and he's realizing the traditional celebration of life, is now simply a celebration.
"But now I'm finding I'm using a Cinderella carriage, that I normally use for weddings I'm using for funerals for babies, young girls who lost their babies and young girls who've died," he said.
Charbonnet says the New Orleans today, is not the New Orleans he knows and loves. And he says now is the time for people to come together and do something.
"We need to stop the killings," he said. "Stop killing each other, our own, we need to stop and show kids to appreciate life and each other."
He hopes one day these senseless acts of violence will be fewer and far between, that way families won't have to take on the heartbreaking task of saying goodbye, too soon.