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http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2013/01/nopd_4_people_shot_in_central.html

NOPD: 5 people shot in Central City where Martin Luther King Day parade had passed earlier
The Times-Picayune By NOLA.com
January 21, 2013 at 1:26 PM, updated January 21, 2013 at 2:23 PM

The New Orleans Police Department said that five people were shot in Central City on Monday afternoon. Police said that the shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m. on the corner of LaSalle Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The shooting occured near where the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade had passed some 30 minutes earlier. The shooting did not appear to be related to the parade, authorities said.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said that the shots were fired out of a white, two-door sedan that drove by a grocery store located near the intersection of both streets. Rapid shots were fired at a group of teenagers who were standing outside.

Five people were shot, Serpas said. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. The car was seen fleeing down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and disappeared into the surrounding neighborhood, Serpas said, adding that video surveillance would soon be made available to the public.

The Melph & Calliope Projects are located in Central City, along Martin Luther King Blvd. The Magnolia Projects are also located in Central City. The area's recent history is deep rooted in violence and is notorious for its high murder rate. The area is where New Orleans rap labels Cash Money Records & No Limit Records started.

In mid-2006, the area was considered the most dangerous part of the city, in terms of murders and crime activity, and was the major reason for the June decision to deploy the Louisiana National Guard to the city so that NOPD officers could focus on the 'crime hotspots', such as this area. In 2007 the neighborhood had a murder rate of 316 per 100,000. The problem with high rates of violent crime has continued to the end of the 2000s.

Central City, New Orleans