NEW ORLEANS – City Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen’s father is recovering after a brazen carjacking in New Orleans East yesterday afternoon.
Nguyen discussed the carjacking in a weekly Facebook Live video posted to her official account on the afternoon of April 7.
Juvenile crime has been a focus of Nguyen’s video series for some time now, and the Councilwoman said she has been working to bring community leaders together to begin working toward a solution.
“I felt the pressure, and I felt the frustration that many of our community members have been having in reference to juvenile crime,” Nguyen said. “It actually hit home for me. Today, my father was actually held at gunpoint today at 2 o’clock after leaving his friend’s home off of Dwyer.”
Initial reports from the NOPD indicate that Nguyen’s 67-year-old father was sitting in his vehicle in the 13900 block of Dwyer Road when two armed juveniles approached and pulled him out of the vehicle by the collar.
The suspects got inside the vehicle and drove off, and Nguyen’s father was able to run away.
“Thank God my father survived, with no injury, just some soreness because they grabbed him by his neck,” the Councilwoman said.
The stolen vehicle was recovered by police, but no further information has yet been released about the suspects.
“I’m going to count my blessings that he’s still with us, but it is an issue with our community,” Nguyen said. “We have to deal with this.”