The boisterous atmosphere surrounding Brandon Snow was deafening.
Popular songs blared from the instruments of marching bands. Dune buggy cars roared through the streets as loud as Harley Davidson choppers. Children screamed for beads and throws as decorated platforms passed them. Together, the assortment of Carnival-season sounds polluted the air.
But no amount of noise could drown out the resonance of gunfire Snow heard merely 20 feet away from him while standing on a Jefferson Parish parade route.
“They’re something you recognize when you hear them, so my first instinct was to run,” Snow, criminal justice sophomore, said of the gunshots. “The whole spot cleared within five minutes.”
A year after shots were fired on the West Bank where Snow stood and along the Bacchus parade route near Lee Circle, New Orleans Police Department authorities are increasing their street force in attempt to stem shootings that have seemingly plagued Carnival season in past years.
“NOPD is putting more plainclothes officers out there on the parade routes looking for guns this year,” said John Dobard, an NOPD crime prevention unit officer. “In addition, we’re going to be more visible, more vigilant and more proactive because we know shootings can happen because they have happened in previous years.”
The city of New Orleans, which saw a 14 percent spike in homicides last year, has witnessed several shooting incidents specifically during Carnival season in recent years. Throughout, evidence of a pattern is present: The shootings occur within the closing days of Mardi Gras.
In 2008, after remaining dormant for the bulk of February, crime erupted in five different parade-related shootings that wounded nine people. The following year saw more victims. Twelve people were shot, including one man killed, in a two-day span beginning on Fat Tuesday, according to Times-Picayune reports.
While it’s difficult for authorities to pinpoint one particular reason for the occurrence of these types of incidents, Loyola criminal justice professor David Khey suggests that the problem may have to do with the nature of festivities.
“When you have large-scale celebrations and festivals where a large amount of alcohol is consumed, the alcohol is typically a primary trigger,” Khey said. “It’s the type of setting where a lot of people are in a tight location. Conflicts do arise, and alcohol is probably a preliminary factor in heightening the issue.”
Khey referenced another incident in 2011 — the Halloween shootings that left two dead and at least 16 people wounded — as an example of a situation when a shooting tragedy occurred on a night where tremendously high numbers of people partied and consumed alcohol.
As The Times-Picayune reported, the shooting resulted from an argument between two men that escalated into gunfire.
More police visibility along the parade routes, according to Officer Dobard, can play a major role in deterring some of the crime and alleviating the arguments that potentially heighten into violent affairs seen in the past.
What’s vital, however, is sending a clear message to criminals throughout the city. “These violent crimes and shootings will not be tolerated,” Dobard said.
While gunfire has consistently done its best to overshadow the various festivities Carnival season has to offer, Khey said it hasn’t discouraged people from enjoying the Mardi Gras experience with family and friends. It doesn’t necessarily mean the possibility of danger isn’t on their minds, but people place more emphasis on ensuring their safety.
Snow is a testament to that. He plans to continue attending parades in the future despite his experience last year..
“Something like this will only make me more conscious of my surroundings, know who I’m going to be around and know where I’m going to be,” he said. “I was lucky. Lucky because I didn’t get shot.”
More than anything, the shootings have changed his perception.
“It really makes you realize that anything can happen anywhere because we were located in a family environment,” he said. “Be conscious of your surroundings. Be around people that you trust. Just make sure you are in a good atmosphere and don’t put yourself in a bad situation. Things happen in a bad situation.”
Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected]
