NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police are investigating a shooting that killed one teenager and injured two others at a house party at a short-term rental in New Orleans.
It happened early Saturday morning in the St. Claude neighborhood.
One neighbor who did not want to be identified heard the gunshots in the 1100 block of Bartholomew Street.
She went outside to investigate and called 911.
"As I walked past the front of my house, just as I got to the base of my stairs, more gunshots rang out,” she said. “I didn’t see a muzzle flash, but I knew it was coming from the direction of that house, I dove back inside.”
According to the NOPD, when officers arrived shortly after one in the morning, they found a 16-year-old boy dead.
He was later identified as Jakai Quinn.
Two others, a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy were also injured.
“As other police arrived, people started coming out of the house and just scattered,” the neighbor said. “I’m not sure how many because I backed up because it was turning into chaos. I was afraid there’d be more shooting.”
After the shooting, the city cited the owner of the property for allegedly operating and advertising it as a short-term rental without a permit.
Neighbors say teenagers somehow rented it for a house party that turned violent.
“How do teenagers get alcohol,” Wayne Corbit asked. “How do teenagers get drugs? How do teenagers get guns? I guarantee they had all three of those things there that night. Clearly, they did.”
The unidentified neighbor also had unanswered questions.
"Who's renting these kids whole homes to party in? Hotels wouldn’t do it. That’s why they’re doing it here because there’s no security. There’s nothing anyone can do.”
Neighbors are now calling for the city to crack down on unpermitted short-term rentals.
“I thought the city wasn’t giving out short-term rental licenses right now…they can’t enforce it, so it’s the wild west at this point," Corbit said.
We were unable to reach the property owner for comment.
A city spokesman confirms the property had a history of violations before the shooting. The owner has now been issued a cease-and-desist order.
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