New Orleans is going through a spike in murders this summer. In fact, according to WWL-TV, this current stretch of murders is the longest in 6 years.

From WWL-TV:

There have been 19 murders over the past 18 days in New Orleans.

WWL-TV crime analyst Jeff Asher says it’s the bloodiest stretch of time in the city since 2010.

“To be having a stretch that is equaling what we had six years ago when murder was much more prevalent is obviously not a positive sign,” Asher said.

NOPD Deputy Chief Paul Noel called it a spike in violent crime, not a long term trend.

“These cases most likely involve individuals that chose to engage in illegal activity,” Noel said. “They chose to make decisions that put them at risk to being victims of violent crime.”

That just makes it so much better….

So far there are 96 murders in New Orleans this year. That’s down from 114 murders last year. But that’s not due to lack of trying. Shootings are up 11% from this time last year.

What we have are a bunch of people who can’t aim and only wound, instead of killing their victims. That’s not much of an improvement.

What’s fueling these shootings? Stolen guns for the most part. This is an issue that needs to be tackled both on the state and local level.