New Orleans Police are looking for a man they say armed himself with a knife this morning and walked along St. Charles Avenue looking for people to rob between Canal Street and Poydras Street.
The first attack was around 4:30am.
"Suspect approached armed with knife and demanded victim’s bag. Victim refused. Subject grabbed victim’s bag and fled," according to the initial police report.
Less than 20 minutes later the violence escalated.
"Suspect armed with knife approached victim from behind and demanded property. Suspect stabbed victim, took cash from victim and fled. Victim transported to local hospital via EMS."
The victims are both men. The first is 26 years old. The second is 54.
The report only identifies the suspect as "Unknown black male."
The Metro Crime Commission reports that armed robberies are up 24% this year and 48% higher than in 2020. There were 206 armed robberies so far this year as of this morning's Orleans Crime Trends posting on the MCC website.
