NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Four people were shot in a matter of hours in the New Orleans East area, killing two people starting Wednesday, Aug. 31 and going into the next morning.
“You don’t get any awareness. They don’t call and tell you. You don’t get any alerts,” says one resident.
One resident explains with so much crime, he’d think the city would want to let them know what’s happening in their neighborhood. He recalls the time he heard gunshots while inside his home. He then noticed he had been hit by a bullet.
“I was a victim a while back. They had a shootout right here. This house got bullets, that house got bullets and my house got bullets,” says the resident.
Anthony Jackson Jr. says it’s disheartening to hear of yet another shooting because a lot of families will be left with the pain.
“When we talk about the trauma that is normally caused when people lose their lives, whether innocent or guilty, we have to bring back the village. We have to get to know who we are as people and who we are living around,” says Jackson.
Jackson adds community ownership has to start with a community conversation. He describes what New Orleans East could be going forward.
“The community village and ownership looks like kids being able to play without being worried about getting hit by stricken bullets. People being able to enjoy the best quality of life that they are supposed to have without looking over their shoulder,” says Jackson.
The resident says those in office need to bring more opportunities to New Orleans East in hopes of seeing the shootings decrease.
“They don’t have anything out here for them. No programs, no nothing, you know they basically wilding out,” says a resident.
Jackson says to change the narrative of the East, the community has to take a deep look at themselves and invest in the community. Or there may not be a community to come back to.
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