Deaths Fall In New Orleans, But Not Shootings

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — People are still being shot at roughly the same rate in New Orleans. They're just not dying as often.

The city's murder rate has fallen by more than 20 percent, while the total rate of shootings, lethal or not, has declined only 5 percent. Yet The Advocate reports that fewer of the victims are dying.

Some officials say police have jailed the most lethal killers, leaving less deadly marksmen doing most of the shooting.

But medical leaders say they've improved treatment of shooting victims. They point to changes meant to stop blood loss in those who've been shot, as well as efforts to get victims on the operating table faster. Of victims taken to LSU Interim Hospital, 30 percent fewer have died in 2013 than in 2012.