Women have begun to feel uneasy about leaving their houses alone at night in New Orleans as violent crime has increased.
Over the past few years, violent crime has substantially increased in New Orleans. The city briefly held the label of the ‘murder capital’ of the US in September due to having the highest homicides per capita among major US cities.
Violent Crimes Surge In New Orleans
Just 119 killings had been committed in New Orleans in the previous three years, which was the lowest amount in almost 50 years. The New Orleans City Council reports that although both have been trending down this year, carjackings and armed robberies have spiked in 2022.
Yet since the year began, more than 50 people have died in New Orleans, matching the record-breaking number of killings from the previous year.
Eileen Carter, who has spent practically her entire life in New Orleans, said to Fox News that “women are afraid.” “After dark, women are inside.”
In August 2022, Carter co-started a recall effort against LaToya Cantrell, the mayor of New Orleans. According to the recall campaign’s organizer, she started the initiative in response to the mayor’s failure to address the city’s numerous issues, such as the rise in violent crime and the city’s deteriorating infrastructure.
But on Tuesday, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said the campaign lacked about 18,000 signatures to force a referendum, thereby ending the recall.
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Female Murder Victims
As reported by the New Orleans City Council, 2022 saw the highest number of female murder victims in the Big Easy since 1996 with 37 documented cases.
A grandma was one of the victims who was shot and killed while taking in a Mardi Gras procession in the city.
After her son was killed by gun violence in 2022, the 50-year-old relocated outside the city to avoid the rise in crime, according to a family member who talked to a CBS station.
According to police data obtained by Nola.com, at least eight gunshots took place on the I-10 interstate in New Orleans in the first two months of the year.
Police eventually identified the culprit in one incident that claimed the lives of an Uber driver and his passenger as a convicted felon on the run with an ankle monitor for another crime.
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