New Orleans police continue to look for two burglary suspects who, they say, shot and killed a man who confronted them early Monday morning in the Marigny. That incident happened on Burgundy Street near Mandeville Street after the victim saw burglars pulling on car doors. The victim survived the initial shooting, but police say he died of the injuries he suffered when the suspects ran him over with their car.
NOPD officials say security cameras caught the shooting on video. However, police have not yet made any arrests.
So what should you do if you see someone trying to break into your car or committing some other crime? One defense expert says: stay inside and stay safe.
"You go outside, you're probably going to be ambushed by more than one person," David Newman, a certified concealed carry trainer, said. "A lot of times, these car break-ins are groups of young people that are doing it together, so there's usually two, three, or four of them."
According to Newman, it's best to observe and take photos and video of the crime happening and reporting it to police. Newman says you'd be putting your life in jeopardy by going out and confronting the criminal regardless of the crime.
"It's not worth dying over things," Newman said. "In 2019, a guy in Mid City--an elderly gentleman--went out. Some kids were breaking into his car. He goes outside. His wife followed him. The kid fired several shot at him (and) hit him in the stomach and killed the wife."
Newman adds that confronting a criminal could put you in legal trouble. That's because, he says, you could cross the line of being the victim to being the aggressor.
"If you're making any aggressive moves in the public, you run the risk of becoming the aggressor and not being able to claim self-defense," Newman said. "It's self-defense, not self-offense."
