State Troopers Upping Presence In NOLA This Weekend

In the aftermath of Sunday's Bourbon Street shooting, Louisiana State Police is sending more troopers to help in New Orleans.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu has requested that 100 troopers be permanently assigned to the city. Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson says LSP will provide short-term help for the city.

"We brought patrol units in on Monday to assist in the French Quarter, the Central Business District, the Marigny, the Bywater area around New Orleans, and any other place they need us," Edmonson said.

Edmonson says there are around 45 troopers in the city daily. Thirty additional troopers have been assigned to the French Quarter and surrounding areas through the weekend.

Edmonson says the goal is to make New Orleans safe, "not only for the people who visit here. The eyes of the world are on New Orleans. It's the gateway for the rest of the state. It's important that they succeed here in New Orleans to people who want to come visit here. But for the people who live and work in New Orleans, itself. They want to go out and do things and they want to feel safe doing that. So, our goal is to support the city of New Orleans as we move forward."

Edmonson says an additional 25 troopers are assigned to work this weekend's Essence Festival. He says that plan was in place before Sunday's incident. However, Edmonson says this year's festival has created a unique situation.

"But when you couple it with the Fourth of July, you get a large influx of people into the French Quarter area," Edmonson said. "So we're going to help them in that manner for the Fourth of July and Essence Festival."