With guns and generators, a few homeowners stand guard over neighbourhoods

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - When night falls, Charlie Hackett climbs the steps to his boarded-up window, takes down the plywood, grabs his 12-gauge shotgun and waits.

He is waiting for looters and troublemakers, for anyone thinking his neighbourhood has been abandoned like so many others across the city. Two doors down, John Carolan is doing the same on his screened-in porch, pistol by his side.

They are not about to give up their homes to the lawlessness that has engulfed New Orleans in the wake of hurricane Katrina.

"We kind of together decided we would defend what we have here and we would stay up and defend the neighbourhood," says Hackett, a U.S. Army veteran with a snow-white beard and a business installing custom kitchens.

With generators giving them power, food to last for weeks and several guns each for protection, the men are two of a scattered community holed up across the residential streets of the city's Garden District, a lush neighbourhood with many antebellum mansions.

The streets, where towering live oaks once offered cool shade, are now often impassable because of huge fallen branches and downed power lines. Lovely porches framed in wrought iron lay smashed. Many of the homes appear only slightly damaged, or even untouched.

But the neighbourhoods are stunningly empty, and so quiet that they sound like a forest.

It is a short drive but a world away from the city's downtown, where tens of thousands of hungry, thirsty and increasingly angry people waited in misery at the Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center before evacuations finally began.

Here, Carolan starts his nightly watch by lighting a big fire in his barbecue pit. Hackett turns his lights on and jams a 4.5-metre wooden brace against the front door so no one can break through.

The night is "black, black, black," Hackett says. "It reminds me of when I was in Vietnam, it reminds me of Dac To."

They have not had a problem staying awake. Each night there are gunshots in the distance, sometimes people walking through, an occasional car driving by.

"Last night I had to draw down on some people," Carolan says. A car with what sounded like a crowd of drunken, partying kids came through and stopped.

"I had to come out with a flashlight in one hand, pistol in the other," he says, crossing his arms like an X. "I said: 'Who are you? Do you live here? What are you doing here?' They said, 'We're leaving."'

Hackett, who in his 50s, lives alone, with his two cats and a bunch of neighbour's pets that he is caring for. Carolan, 46, is keeping watch with his brother, wife, son, and three-year-old granddaughter.

In the first few days, they were especially fearful. Looters smashed windows and ransacked a discount store and a drugstore a few streets over. Three men came to Carolan's house asking about his generator and brandished a machete. He showed them his gun and they left.

"It was pandemonium for a couple of nights. We just felt that when they got done with the stores, they'd come to the homes," Hackett says. "When it's not easy pickings, they'll go somewhere else."

"What do you say, I'm a survivor," John Carolan says with a laugh, thinking of the reality TV show. "Hey, give me the million bucks now."

Hackett has enough gas and food for a month. Carolan says they have weeks' worth of food and bug repellent, and he will siphon gas from left-behind cars to keep his electricity going.

"Everything we have is in our homes. With the lawlessness in this town, are you going to walk away from everything you built?" Carolan says. "A lot of people think we're stupid. They say, 'Why did you stay?' I say, 'Why didn't you stay?"'

Email from an NOPD friend in New Orleans.... I edited out some personal stuff...

"well, as an actual witness to the insanity that has been going on, I strongly STRONLY advise you to stay wherever the #### you're at, xxxx. Do not come home, not even to help with the 'rebuilding', as that won't even start for MONTHS. there are dead bodies EVERYWHERE. The water, and everything it has touched is CONTAMINATED (that is the nice way to say it), there is nothing here. Yeah, your place probably made out ok, but there is nothing left around it. These animals have shot at rescue workers, at US, and make all the jokes about nopd as you want, we have been here, sleeping on the floor, ####ting and pissing in garbage cans, with no running water or electricity for days, and we have been trying to help people as we do this. as for looters, I am 110% with you when you say 'food and water'... only, these mother ####ers are looting footlocker for jerseys, taking beer and cigarettes from winn dixie, and are most surely taking dvd players, looting BLOCKBUSTER (as we all know, these mother ####ers are fully aware there are so many life saving things in that mother ####ing place)...

Amy called yesterday, in tears. She has been convoying fuel and actually had to run someone over who was attacking the vehicle with weapons. she is done. police officers are killing themselves and being killed, the animals are setting historic ####ing buildings on canal street on fire. roving 'gangs' are literally breaking into peoples houses, raping women and killing the families. what the ####!!!

Why would anyone want to come here? I understand it is our home, it is where we come from, where we were raised, etc. you just have no idea the thigns we've seen here, this is NOT the new orleans you know and love. I know and understand that you, xxxx especially are not going to believe it or sympathize with it, but I assure you, I am not in the least bit exaggerating. this place, let me just say... military people say it is worse than somalia. LOL? I don't ####ing know what to compare it to.

People have lost EVERYTHING. and some still refuse to leave, as if they have a choice! power and water will not be restored for months. the national guard and military, who still by the way have not supplied us with ANYTHING in the way of food or water, we've had to get that on our own, is going to literally have to go door to door, clearing houses and looking for bodies. the military has requested 60,000 body bags... SIXTY THOUSAND!!! and that may not be enough from what I'm understanding!!! My uncle, who is a dr. working out of east jefferson, is literally appalled at the thought that they are allowing people from jefferson back in on monday to "check on their stuff"... the disease that is in the air and water, the lack of running water, people are going to ####ing RIOT....

I promise you, stay where you're at. our chief told us yesterday that financial help is on the way, that 90 billion is coming to us (the city), and that new orleans will be a great place to call home in 2 to 5 ####ing YEARS!!!! Please, don't misunderstand me, help is welcome. I, however, strongly recommend leaving this job to the people that are qualified, the people with the proper inoculations, the proper training, the experience to handle it.

This is no florida, this is nothing that anyone could imagine. I'm taking pictures and video, but this #### is just like I'm trapped in a really ####ing bad movie... day after tomorrow bad. I am carrying an AR-15 or a shotgun with me at all times. And of course, my two attack chihuahua's, who I am offering up to anyone who can possibly take care of them for me while we are stuck here in this... I really need that more than any####ingthing else.

I love you all and hope to god you are all safe and can find jobs. I suggest staying as far away from the city, even state, as you possibly can. evacuees are just overflowing the state lines, and opportunity will be scarce. ....., stay in ..... , ros and hope... go as far away as you can. if we do get the time off, we are going to dc for a couple of days. love you all, write back if you can. just now got some super generator at "fort apache", whatever... being able to send the email is definitely a nice ####ing treat. would give it up for a working toilet, though."

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