Based upon our experiences here in Houston, this does not even come as a surprise to me.

Five people ranging in age from 16 to 19 were killed in a street shooting early Saturday, the most violent crime reported in this slowly repopulating city since Hurricane Katrina hit last August.

All were believed to have been gunned down in a volley of bullets on a street in the Central City neighborhood just outside the central business district. Three of the victims were found in a sport utility vehicle rammed against a utility pole and two were found nearby on the street.

Authorities said they were looking for one or more suspects but did not elaborate.

Capt. John Bryson said police think the shootings were either drug-related or some type of retaliation attack. A semiautomatic weapon was used and "multiple, multiple rounds" were fired, he said.

"I think the motivation we're looking at is pretty obvious," he said. "Somebody wanted them dead."

Or crime rate -- especially our murder rate -- spiked following the arrival of the Katrina evacuees. Seems to me that some of the thugs have found their way back east. I hate to say it, but I'm just glad it happened in their town and not ours.

And I'm troubled by the learned helplessness of the residents of New Orleans.

Bryson said the recent spike in murders, which he said was connected to drugs, was not just a "police problem" or a "New Orleans problem."

"It's a Louisiana problem, it's a United States problem," he said. "We're begging the citizens to join with us to coordinate with watch groups."

No, Capt. Bryson -- it seems to be primarily a New Orleans problem. Deal with it yourself, and start by having your residents raise their children with some self-sufficiency, morality, and respect for the law and human life. Don't put it on the rest of us.

But unfortunately, there are those who will beat their breasts and blame the nation as a whole for the shortcomings of the residents 9and former residents) of New Orleans -- folks like the editors of the LA Times, who know where not to put the blame for the misuse of FEMA funds by Katrina evacuees.

But obsessing about the spending habits of refugees comes perilously close to blaming the victim.

I'm sure they will say the same of the criminality of New Orleanians as well.

Posted by: Greg at 01:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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