NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – New Orleans police are searching for a person who stole a car with a baby inside Sunday morning.
The crime happened at the intersection of Fleur De Lis Drive and 20th Street in Lakeview.
The baby is okay and is with their parents after the car was recovered about a mile away from where it was stolen.
The incident is just another reason why some have left Lakeview.
One of the people behind the Facebook page “Lakeview Citizen Watch,” Gino Ascani, says he moved his family out of Lakeview to Mississippi a couple of years ago because of the crime.
“I still work in New Orleans 2-3 days a week,” Ascani explained. “I sleep in New Orleans 2-3 days a week at my house in Lakeview, and I’m upset about leaving my neighborhood that I was born and raised in, but safety and my family comes first.”
Another Lakeview family is grateful once their vehicle was located shortly after it was stolen on Louisville Street with their baby still inside and unharmed.
“You hear horror stories that could be so tragically different than some of these ones that have basically, if you want to call it, a happy ending,” Ascani said. “It’s just people are getting used to it, numb to it.”
The Lakeview native says the neighborhood patrols only go so far.
“You know, the consent decree has handcuffs on all our police officers, and it’s not fair to them that they go out and put their life on the line every night, and they’re not allowed to do their job to capacity,” Ascani said.
He believes the Lakeview Crime Prevention District should redirect some funding, so that more arrests can be made.
“They could put it toward surveillance cameras and strategically put them around Lakeview,” Ascani said. “They could bring in a consultant.”
We reached out to the Lakeview Crime Prevention District. A spokesperson for the group says they are not commenting pending the completion of NOPD’s investigation.
Anyone with information that can assist in this investigation is urged to contact NOPD Third District detectives at 504-658-6030. Those wishing to report information anonymously can call Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111.
