NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Kids and crime. It’s two words that seem to keep finding themselves in the same sentence in New Orleans.
School is supposed to be a place parents and guardians can send their loved ones and know they’ll be safe. But, after recent incidents at two New Orleans schools, it leaves some questioning it.
“New orleans is not the New Orleans I came up in,” explained grandmother Alberta Augustus. “We were safe in school. Now you’re scared to even send your children to school.”
On Wednesday, students at Kipp Believe Primary were sent home with a letter stating a child had brought a gun to school. Luckily, no one was harmed.
“What is a young child doing with a gun like this? Where was the parent? How could this happen? It needs to be stopped,” said Augustus.
A day earlier, outside Booker T. Washington High School, a student was shot after suspects in an SUV started firing at him.
“New Orleans has become the wild, wild west. I don’t feel safe here anymore. Nobody feels safe -you can’t even be outside your house anymore. So if I can’t send my grandchildren to school to be safe, well I’ll keep them home,” Augustus said.
In the midst of the chaos though, students show there is hope. About 3,000 kids from Inspire Nola Charter Schools walked in peace to stand up to gun violence in our streets.
“As an educator, nothing impacts us more than knowing that I have young people that do not feel safe, and that is not ok,” said Superintendent Avis Williams.
Nearly every single one of those students say they’ve had a friend or family member who has fallen victim to gun violence, adding they’re tired of being worried.
“I need parents to get involved,” said Edna Karr High School parent Bridgette Martin. “I don’t need to see a plethora of parents when it’s a party, because we ain’t going to have too many parties if we keep dying.”
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