NEW ORLEANS — In your Breakdown, it’s been a violent week in New Orleans. In fact, it brought the highest number of homicides in a single week of 2024.
According to new data from the Metropolitan Crime Commission, seven people were killed from December 9th through the 15th, bringing the total number of homicides this year to 140 people.
But let’s zoom out. Despite this one week spike, violent crime in New Orleans is actually the lowest it has been since 2019.
The city even went more than two weeks without a homicide back in September. That’s something to say after being dubbed the Murder Capital of the U-S in 2022, with 265 homicides.
The New Orleans City Council Crime Dashboard shows homicides, shootings, and carjackings are down 40 percent or more from just last year.
That’s reflective of an overall national dip in violent crime after a surge during the pandemic years.
And while any crime scene tape is bad news, the timing of this recent spike in violence isn’t entirely unexpected. Multiple studies have shown there are overall more shootings reported during summer, on weekends, and during the holiday season.
While we’re talking about gun violence, a reminder for you: The holidays are also the most common time of year for unintentional shootings involving children.
Lock your guns up. Put them out of arm’s reach. And stay safe.
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