NEW ORLEANS — A 14-year-old is in custody, accused of carjacking and assaulting the parent of a student at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts while she was parked in the parking lot Friday afternoon.
According to the New Orleans Police Department, a 13-year-old and 16-year-old have been identified as suspects in the crime, but have not been charged yet.
“Friday was a terrible incident,” said Brian Hammell, the director of communications & campus activities for NOCCA. “I’ve worked here for 18 years, 19 years, and it’s something that has never happened on our campus.”
School leaders say the mother was waiting in the school’s parking lot when three teens went up the car, one punched her in the face and another pulled her out. The teens then took off in the car, according to the NOPD.
According to the school, campus police officers and the NOPD were on the scene within minutes but the suspects were gone. The next day, NOPD officers found the stolen car on the 2300 block of North Tonti and nearby were three teens who matched the description of the suspects and ran from the police.
"They were apprehended a short time later in the 2300 block of Spain Street,” NOPD officials wrote in an email.
As of Monday night, the 14-year-old was in custody, charged with carjacking and simple assault. The 13-year-old and 16-year-old have been identified as suspects in the carjacking, but have not been charged.
In a letter to parents, the school says they are sorry that they “could not know exactly where to be and when to be there to prevent the moment from happening” and added that safety is a top priority.
“What we communicate to our facility and staff is being alert,” said Hammell. “It’s always important to know your surroundings, to know what’s going on around you at all the time.”
School leaders are also reminding students about wearing school I.D. badges because the three teens did not look much older than students.
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