A couple of years ago I heard about a friend who refused to drive through New Orleans East when traveling to Florida from Metairie. The friend would take the Causeway Bridge, a much longer route, to avoid what he considered a dangerous I-10 corridor. I thought, “How paranoid.” Now I’m thinking he might have been onto something.

Remember the days when you only had to avoid certain New Orleans neighborhoods because they were too dangerous? Those days are gone. Now bullets fly in just about every part of Orleans Parish. They even fly on I-10.

This past weekend they had to shut down I-10 in both directions for an hour after several people riding in a vehicle opened fire on a 29-year old man traveling I-10 eastbound near New Orleans Avenue. The victim was rushed to the hospital and will survive.

Sunday’s victim was the 21st person shot while driving along I-10 since 2016. Maybe it’s time to start adopting a little paranoia when driving on the interstate through Orleans Parish.

The I-10 shooting was not the only one this weekend in New Orleans but you already knew that. Seven others were shot in six separate incidents. It all happened between 1 AM and just before noon on Sunday. It’s a good time to be in the ammunition business in New Orleans.

A drive-by shooter in a black vehicle struck two men, 20 and 17 years old, in New Orleans East earlier Sunday morning.

Mid morning someone shot a 58-year old man in Central City. Was that the only Central City shooting this weekend? No. A 53-year-old man was near Jackson Avenue and South Robertson Street when he heard gunshots and ran, hiding under a house. While hiding under the house he realized he was shot and walked to an area hospital.

In New Orleans you aren’t safe in, around, or even under your house.

An inexcusable 716 people have been shot in New Orleans in the past year. That averages out to almost two shootings a day. Since there are only a little less than 400,000 people living in Orleans Parish it is easily the per capita murder capital of the United States and more deadly than all but three countries when it comes to the murder rate.

But the most important number you need to know when it comes to New Orleans’ out of control violence is 1870. That’s the last year a Republican was elected mayor.