After a slowdown in carjackings, the New Orleans Police Department is investigating a recent spate of those crimes over the weekend, with three of them happening within a mile of each other in Central City.
The first happened around 3:30 p.m. Friday in Central City on Rev. John Raphael Way near Josephine Street. NOPD officials say two men approached the victim and asked for a lighter before pulling guns on the victim and demanding his keys, cash, and cell phone. The victim handed over the items to the suspects, who then drove away in the victim’s pickup truck.
On Friday night around 8p.m. in Mid City, two armed men stole a Ford Mustang from the intersection of North Alexander and Canal Street. Police say the carjacking happened while a passenger was still inside the vehicle. The suspects, investigators say, threw the passenger out of the car before they sped away from the scene.
Later Friday night around 11 p.m., a group of armed men carjacked the driver of a Maserati while he was stopped on the side of the Chef Menteur Highway to make a phone call. That car has since been recovered. The suspects are still at large.
Around 11 a.m. Saturday, two armed men in ski masks carjacked the driver of a Volkswagen near the intersection of Second and Clara Streets in Central City. Police say the suspects pulled guns on the victim, who then handed over his keys. The suspects reportedly sped away towards South Claiborne Avenue.
The last carjacking happened just after midnight on Sunday morning on Seminole Lane near Jackson Avenue in the Hoffman Triangle. Police say a woman flagged down the driver. A second woman then approached the car and pulled a knife on the driver, telling him to pull over. A man then came to the car and put a gun to the driver’s head while one of the women rummaged through the car. That woman then stabbed the driver before the suspects ran off without taking the car. An EMS crew took the victim to the hospital.
If you know anything about these cases, call the NOPD at 504-658-5300 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.
