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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Two men wearing black ski masks and carrying a 9mm handgun and an assault rifle attempted to rob patrons at Lakeview Harbor Restaurant & Bar Tuesday night.

Police say about 30 people were inside the restaurant at 911 Harrison Ave, New Orleans when the gunmen walked through the back kitchen door about 11 p.m.

  • Two gunmen enter through side door of restaurant
  • One robber enters dining area
  • Customers are ordered to get on the ground
  • One employee runs out the front door
  • Robber tries to shoot the exiting employee but misses
  • Hostess stand shows the only damage from the attack

The business’ owners say that the side door of the restaurant remains locked almost all of the time, but workers had unlocked it to take out the trash.  That lapse in security gave the robbers the window of opportunity to strike.

Initially, the gunmen entered the kitchen and one of them, using a handgun, held the employees there in place.

The second gunman continued into the bar and dining area and ordered everyone to get on the ground.  But before anyone could react, another employee bolted out the front door of the business.  That’s when the gunman, using a rifle, fired a single shot.

The bullet hit the restaurant’s hostess stand.  The employee escaped unharmed.  But the robbers decided to call off the heist and exited through the same door they used to gain access to the restaurant’s kitchen.

The Lakeview Citizen Watch Facebook page also contains information on the attack.  Anyone who lives in the area with video surveillance cameras is asked to come forward.  Specifically, the Lakeview Citizen Watch Facebook page hopes neighbors in the 6300 blocks of Argonne Blvd. and Marshall Foch Street will check their security camera footage.

The following evening after the robbery, NOPD officers were going door to door in the area, hoping to find people with security camera footage that might help identify the robbers or the car they used.

If you have information on this latest Wheel of Justice case, call CrimeStoppers at 504-822-1111.  You don’t have to reveal your name or testify, and you could earn a cash reward.

So far, more than 300 people have been booked after their cases rolled on the Wheel of Justice.

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