NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— New Orleans Police were on the scene of a deadly shooting Friday night at about 8:00, that claimed the life of 73-year-old William Manns, on I-10 East near Norman Francis Parkway. The fact is that while this case is under investigation, more shootings are happening on the interstate.
Monday (Oct 3), NOPD Superintendent Shawn Ferguson stated that currently there’s no indication that this trend of shootings are connected or random.
“All of these investigations are still open and active and so we really cannot establish if there’s any type of connection or if they’re random acts what have you. That is still to be determined,” said Ferguson.
According to the Superintendent, the NOPD has partnered up with other organizations on patrolling the N.O. East interstate, where many of the shootings have happened.
“We’re going from Chalmette exit up to the high-rise and now we’re seeing kind of a shift to US 90 and now we have to shift our deployment accordingly,” said Ferguson.
In 2022, the department says there have been seven homicides and 18 non-fatal interstate shootings, compared to 2021 where there were four homicides and 25 non-fatal shootings. Even with the troubling statistics, Ferguson assures that the roads are safe.
“I would not say that you cannot drive on our interstate. While these are active investigations we have to take each case on a case-by-case basis to determine what the involvement is, what the motives are, but nevertheless do not be afraid to travel in New Orleans,” said NOPD Superintendent Shawn Ferguson.
