NEW ORLEANS — Jason Rando knew something wasn’t right when he saw the pile of broken glass outside his workshop in the Bywater Friday morning.
“When I pulled up here this morning, I knew something happened, but I didn’t know what it was,” said Rando.
He soon heard the story of the 48-year-old neighbor who parks on the street, across from the MKRed mill working studio.
The neighbor who fought back when crime visited Louisa Street.
“He parks every day. I see him, ‘hi’, wave to him, ‘hi, bye’, nice guy,” said Rando.
A police source tells the Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate the man was parking his truck around 7 p.m. on Thursday when a pair of 17-year-olds tried to carjack him at gunpoint.
But the man was armed and acted fast. The report says he threw his keys, ducked behind another car, then fired one shot, hitting one of the teenagers in the neck. The man then ran home.
Initial reports say the teenager who was shot was unresponsive when his accomplice drove him to the hospital.
Rando says he feels for both parties.
“My heart goes out to this guy and his family. I hope he’s alright,” Rando said. “I’m sure he’s probably shaken up over what happened.”
“I feel bad for the teens, the youngsters that are going out there and doing this stuff. Like, it’s just, you know, the wild, wild west,” he added.
Carjackings in New Orleans have been on the rise for years. According to Metro Crime Commission, as of Sunday, April 10th, the city had seen 114 carjackings this year. That’s 40 more than this time last year.
One of them happened on March 28 on Clouet Street, just one block West from the scene on Louisa Street. Three days later, another carjacking happened on Piety Street, just one block East of the scene on Louisa Street.
Many of the suspects in the city-wide issue have turned out to be teenagers. An 11-year-old and three teenagers were accused in the theft of a car that then plowed into the Sea Cave Arcade in the Bywater earlier this year.
The trend has many New Orleanians, like Rando, on edge and at the end of their rope.
“I think people in New Orleans are starting to get tired of this and they’re taking the law into their own hands. You can’t blame this guy,” Rando said.
New Orleans Police have not responded to immediate requests for comment on the situation. The teenagers will reportedly face charges of armed robbery and illegal firearms possession.