NEW ORLEANS – Four men were killed in one shooting and a fifth was gunned down in a separate incident hours later, the latest round of killings as the city struggles to rein in drug- and gang-related violence that has accompanied the recovery from Hurricane Katrina, police said Saturday.
In mid-June, Gov. Kathleen Blanco sent the Louisiana National Guard and state police to New Orleans to help fight crime there after five teenagers were shot to death in a single attack.
However, the latest shootings did not happen in the high-crime areas police have been targeting in their drive to stamp out the violence, police Superintendent Warren Riley said Saturday morning.
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The first four shootings took place late Friday in the Treme neighborhood, not far from the French Quarter.
The victims were three brothers — ages 16 and 21 — and their 39-year-old friend, Riley said. All four lived nearby.
Detectives were uncertain about the motive and were still looking for the assailants Saturday.
The fifth shooting happened early Saturday in the Gentilly neighborhood, an area that was severely flooded and which has been slowly rebuilding. Police said they found a man dead in a street after they received reports that shots had been fired.
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