NEW ORLEANS — Six people were shot at two separate stores in New Orleans in just 20 hours. The latest shooting happened just after Noon Thursday at a Dollar Tree on Chef Menteur Highway. Four people were hurt but they are expected to survive.
The shooting was less than two miles from where two people were shot and killed Wednesday. That shooting happened at the Walgreens at Gentilly Blvd and Elysian Fields Avenue.
Sylvia and Woody Turbinton live in the Gentilly Woods neighborhood. They moved into their home 33 years ago and began to cherish a weekly tradition of spending each Sunday afternoon in the French Quarter.
"We just adored going to the Riverwalk and I would buy a cigar, I love to smoke. My wife would eat ice cream and we would sit out and watch the boats pass by on the river but we don’t do that anymore because there's so much crime in the French Quarter," Woody Turbinton said.
They haven't visited the French Quarter in three years. Their traditions they enjoyed in their neighborhood have stopped too.
"When we first moved in it was beautiful. We used to go walking every evening, riding our bikes, but not anymore. It's dangerous," Turbinton said.
Now the grandparents to nine limit their trips to church, the grocery store, and Lakeside Mall.
"We feel safe there and that’s about it. Otherwise we don’t go anywhere else," Turbinton said.
He would even discourage his wife from shopping at the Dollar Tree just around the corner. She was there Saturday.
"To get a birthday card," Sylvia Turbinton said.
Not anymore.
"Oh no, no, no. He don’t have to tell me anymore," she said.
It's where two adults and two juveniles were shot Thursday afternoon, according to police. Police believe two were targeted and two were innocent bystanders shopping inside.
One day before, a 16 year old girl and a man were shot and killed at a Walgreens.
"It's just something we have to get a handle on and we have to get a handle on it with a stronger criminal justice system," City Councilmember Eugene Green said.
The violent 24 hours came just as NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson announced his retirement.
"I really hate to see him retire and who are we going to get next? Are we going to get someone who can do the job as well," Turbinton wonders. "I'm hoping we get people who are able to come up with good ideas to handle it."
No arrests have been made in either shooting. Anyone with information on this or any violent crime can call Crimestoppers at 822-1111.
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