The NOPD investigated two separate homicides this Christmas, leaving two men dead. Neighbors and loved ones wish the violence on a holiday like today would stop.
The quiet Christmas holiday morning was first interrupted by gunshots when New Orleans police were called out to the 4400 block of Plum Orchard just before 11 am.
Police say they found a man shot to death, lying in a grassy lot behind a home.
They later found out the shooting took place a few blocks away on Chef Menteur Highway.
But the violence didn’t end there.
“I was in the kitchen eating dinner and I heard gunshots about 6 of them, I thought they were firecrackers next thing I came out and saw two guys shot in the area,” said one Hollygrove neighbor.
Neighbors in the Hollygrove area say they knew something happened at the nearby Gas ‘n Go on South Claiborne Avenue just before 1 pm.
“We were just inside eating dinner heard gunshots came outside and saw a guy running. I’m not sure if he was shot at the time, he collapsed,” said another neighbor.
Police say two 31-year-old men ran away after the shooting in the parking lot with gunshot wounds. One of those men died from their injuries at the hospital.
Family, who was still looking for answers this holiday say it was their loved one, Tyrane Forest who was killed.
One neighbor says while he didn’t know him personally, he was always willing to help out.
“I seen them, they helped me cross the street… it’s just sad all the senseless killing,” said one neighbor.
With violent crime on the rise in the city, police investigating more than 200 homicides this year alone, and a solve rate hovering around 50 percent neighbors say the violence has changed their routines.
“I’m so scared, I’m terrified with this killing. I don’t go outside after 4:00. It hasn’t always been like this it’s just, what do they say, new kids on the block,” said one neighbor.
Despite the violence, others are still holding onto the Christmas spirit.
“It’s so sad Christmas Day you don’t expect that it’s sad it happened on Christmas. I just pray for his family and all involved,” said one neighbor.
Police ask anyone with information on either of these shootings to contact Crimestoppers.
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