While many consider Uptown to be the ideal neighborhood for New Orleans living, recent events paint a different picture.

Although the neighborhood is famous for its culture, top zoo and massive antebellum homes, the increase in and prominence of violent crime has frightened both students and residents, many of whom are now more reluctant to roam around the neighborhood, particularly after dark and after a night of drinking.

“You definitely put a target on yourself,” Garrett Kelly, history freshman, said. Kelly, whose bicycle was stolen on April 24 outside of The Frat House Uptown, now borrows friends’ bikes to get around until he can replace the one stolen.

“I locked it up outside of the bar,” Kelly said, “but I got a ride home that night because I had been drinking, and I wasn’t exactly in the right state to drive a bike. When I went back the next day to get it, it was gone.”

While Kelly was relating his story, his friend, Kelsey Winchester, mass communication freshman, couldn’t contain herself and burst into fits of laughter.

“I’m sorry,” she said in between giggles. “It’s sad, but still so funny.”

Winchester’s response is similar to those of other students’ when hearing of another incident. After receiving BOLOs several times a week, sometimes several in one day, students have become desensitized to the crime, regarding it as an everyday occurrence and part of Uptown life.

However, on April 18, many were shocked when rumors began circulating that someone had been killed outside of popular Uptown bar Friar Tuck’s.

“The bar wasn’t really crowded, just the regular Friday crowd listening to the jukebox and enjoying a few drinks,” history junior Colin Gregory said. “All of a sudden we heard this crash much louder than the music. We ran outside to see what it was and saw this car crashed on the side of the bar. People went up to the driver, and he wasn’t moving, just bleeding.”

Gregory said that when the police arrived they ushered everyone back into the bar.

“It was insane,” he said. “There were police everywhere, and the FBI even showed up. We were questioned and weren’t allowed to leave for a few hours. While it may sound nice to be trapped inside of a bar, this sort of situation puts a damper on your night.”

Although this was the story circulating on the news and around campus, it wasn’t until a few days later that the full story emerged.

The victim, while dropping off his girlfriend at home several blocks away on the corner of Dufossat and LaSalle Streets, was ambushed in a preemptive drive-by-shooting. While still conscious, he apparently tried to drive down Freret Street to the hospital when he stopped breathing and crashed into the handicapped ramp of the bar, according to a story by the Associated Press.

While the shooting apparently had nothing to do with the bar and occurred several blocks away, the incident has greatly affected the typically packed bar’s business.

“We’ve had to cut shifts,” Michael Caruso, psychology sophomore and Tuck’s bartender, said. “Look around. There are more workers here than customers. I basically get paid $2 to stand here because we aren’t getting any tips.”

“I’m hesitant to go back,” Gregory said. “Although we now know that the shooting had nothing to do with the bar, it still happened in the neighborhood. It’s not worth the risk.”

Macklin Barry, graphic design sophomore and Tuck’s bartender, insists that these fears are unfounded.

“We have several security cameras around the interior and exterior of the bar,” he said. “We actually saw the car crash into the ramp on the camera. We also have trained security here on busy nights and weekends, which is a precaution that most bars take.”

“Besides, it’s probably a hell of a lot safer since the murder because there are a lot more police patrolling,” Caruso said.

Although the murder has deterred some from patronizing Tuck’s and other businesses after hours, other students like music industry studies sophomore Mary Petro are not concerned.

“We knew what the crime situation in New Orleans was when we decided to come here,” she said. “While I’m going to exercise caution, I’m not going to let their actions intimidate me or in anyway keep me from experiencing Uptown New Orleans.”

Justin Templet can be reached at [email protected].