Police investigate the city’s 200th homicide victim of 2020

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Rafael Goyeneche of the Metropolitan Crime Commission says 200 people have now become homicide victims in the city of New Orleans.

The 200th victim, a female, who police say may also be the suspect of an armed carjacking.

Police say she was shot in the back and died at the hospital.

It happened Wednesday morning just after 9 a.m. in the 5600 block of Read Boulevard in New Orleans East.

“Homicides are up about 68 percent. Last year, we had 120,” says Rafael Goyeneche.

Goyeneche says shootings are up 66 percent this year, and carjackings also spiked more than 160 percent.

“These aren’t random acts. Many of these are violent and repeat offenders that are going out and either targeting people in the community to carjack their cars or commit robberies, or they’re retaliating against some of their rival drug gangs,” says Goyeneche.

Other crimes, like auto theft, are also on the rise in some districts.

“The Amazon gentleman came to drop off a package,” says a New Orleans East resident.

When an Amazon delivery driver pulled up in the 7700 block of Sandpiper Drive, he had no idea what was about to happen.

“He dropped the package off, stood at the door and another neighbor noticed that the vehicle was being stolen,” says a neighbor.

The thief simply jumped into the delivery truck and took off.

Auto theft calls for service in New Orleans are up nine percent, and some of the crimes are very brazen and violent.

“And, it’s not over the past couple of weeks or the past couple of months. It’s been a whole year of this type of pattern,” says Goyeneche.

The NOPD created a ‘Violent Crime Abatement Investigative Unit’ in October, and Chief Ferguson says several significant arrests have already been made.

Still, Goyeneche points out, it will take time to turn the numbers around.

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