New Orleans’ Violent Weekend Highlights the Toll of Gun Violence in Cities

At least two people were shot and killed and 12 shot and injured during a particularly violent weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana. Early Sunday, a shooter injured 10 people in the city’s French Quarter. That same afternoon, two people were shot and killed and two others were injured in a shooting in New Orleans’ 7th Ward. The holiday weekend’s shootings are another reminder of the gun violence crisis facing Louisiana, which has the second-highest rate of gun deaths in the country. 

Research indicates that gun homicides and assaults are disproportionately concentrated in cities. In New Orleans, residents face a gun murder rate 11 times greater than other Americans. Gun violence in cities reflects and intensifies this country’s long-standing racial inequities; Black Americans account for 81 percent of murder victims, despite making up only 38 percent of the population.

Research has shown that community-based gun violence prevention and intervention programs are effective at reducing gun deaths and injuries in communities that are disproportionately impacted by gun violence. One such program, Cure Violence, takes a public health approach to fight the disease of violence and has already made dozens of communities across the country safer. In the South Bronx, the Cure Violence program was associated with a 37 percent decline in gun injuries and a 63 percent decline in shooting victimizations. Cure Violence New Orleans is an integral part of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s gun violence prevention plan.

A factsheet on gun violence in Louisiana is available here. If you’d like to connect with a Moms Demand Action volunteer in Louisiana, please reach out.