New Orleans, Louisiana Accounts for 5 Percent of Mass Shootings Nationwide in 2023

NEW ORLEANS, La. (KPEL News) - A new study shows that New Orleans is leading the way in at least one dire statistic, and it's one of the leading concerns of citizens in the city.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit that "tracks gun violence across the country using police and media reports and other sources," according to NOLA.com, there have been 82 mass shootings across the country since the start of 2023, and 5 percent of those shootings have been in New Orleans - far higher than any other city.

The group defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are killed or injured, and that doesn't include the shooter. So far, there have been four such events in New Orleans in 2023 - including one this weekend during the Krewe of Bacchus parade on Sunday night, which ledft one dead and four others injured.

According to NOLA.com:

Five people have been killed and 14 more injured in mass shootings in New Orleans since the start of the year. They are among the 125 people who have been killed or injured by gunfire in the city during the timeframe, which works out to an average of more than two victims per day.

The overall number of shooting victims roughly matches the city's pace at this point in 2022 — a year that was one of the most violent on record in the city.

But mass shooting incidents have been far more common in the early months of 2023. There were 12 mass shootings in the city in all of 2022; if the current rate continues throughout the year, the city would experience 28 such events this year.

Crime in New Orleans

Violent crime in New Orleans has been making several headlines of late - including taking the top spot as the nation's "murder capital," a designation that earned it a special report from NBC News.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who herself is currently facing a recall effort, has empaneled a task force to offer solutions to the city's crime problems. Along with the homicides, NBC News cited 539 carjackings in 2023 alone - that is, less than a month into the year - which is more than double the number from last year.

The number of carjackings, in which criminals take the car while the owner is inside, was 270 last year.