NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Deadly shootings at a signature New Orleans cultural event — a neighborhood “second-line” parade — left authorities pleading with witnesses to come forward with information or cell phone video while seeking to reassure the public that the weekend bloodshed was an aberration in a city where violent crime has been going down.
Gunfire broke out twice along the route of the Sunday afternoon parade, police said. Gunfire injured 10 people the first time. Two people died and three more were injured in the second incident. The 13 injured were all reported in stable condition Monday, Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.
Still unclear Monday morning was whether the two incidents were related, and the motives behind them.
City Council member Eugene Green implored witnesses to come forward during a news conference Monday morning. “There were a lot of phones, being used on yesterday,” Green said. “There are a lot of people who saw what happened.”
Second-line parades — so-called because observers often follow behind band members to form a second line of marchers — are a longstanding tradition in New Orleans. Sunday's parade was an annual event organized by the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club. Other times, second-lines are quickly organized to honor a fallen local or national celebrity. Most recently, the memory of local longtime news anchor Eric Paulson, who died of cancer earlier this year, was honored with a second-line.
Council member Oliver Thomas hailed the parade tradition as an important part of city culture and a driver of commerce, stressing that the violence that broke Sunday had nothing to do with organizers or participants.
The gunfire came as the New Orleans Police Department and city and state officials have noted a reduction in violent, pandemic-era crime in New Orleans. Coincidentally, the nonprofit group Metropolitan Crime Commission released statistics showing a 49% drop in homicides in the city since 2022.
“Our city is moving in the right direction,” Green said. “This is a terrible setback relative to the families that experienced violence in this particular event. But second-lines and our culture are important in our city. Green said Sunday's parade was the 26th by the Nine Times social club. "And I’m looking forward to the 27th and more.”
Still, Sunday's violence brought to mind other neighborhood parades marred by shootings, notable among them a Mother's Day 2013 mass shooting that wounded 19.
Thomas touted the cultural and economic importance of the parades, and the safety, but also decried reports that many along the route were brandishing guns.
“We have no business with guns at a parade ground or in our entertainment areas,” said Kirkpatrick, a frequent critic of a state law allowing carrying of concealed weapons without a permit.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick shares information about the investigation of Sunday's shootings during a press conference at the NOPD headquarters on Poydras Street in New Orleans, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
New Orleans City Council member Oliver Thomas shares information about the investigation of Sunday's shootings during a press conference at the NOPD headquarters on Poydras Street in New Orleans, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick shares information about the investigation of Sunday's shootings during a press conference at the NOPD headquarters on Poydras Street in New Orleans, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick shares information about the investigation of Sunday's shootings during a press conference at the NOPD headquarters on Poydras Street in New Orleans, Monday Nov. 18, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is requesting nearly $100 billion in emergency disaster aid after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and other natural disasters, telling lawmakers that the money is “urgently needed.”
The letter Monday to House Speaker Mike Johnson comes as lawmakers meet during a lame-duck session to finish key priorities before making way for a new Congress and the incoming Trump administration. Biden said he has met firsthand with those harmed by the storms and he heard what residents and businesses needed from the federal government.
"Additional resources are critical to continue to support these communities,” Biden said.
The largest share of the money, about $40 billion, would go to the main disaster relief fund at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The fund helps with debris removal, repairing public infrastructure and providing financial assistance to survivors.
Biden said the fund would face a shortfall this budget year without additional money. He said that would not only affect the agency's ability to provide lifesaving assistance to survivors, but also would slow recovery efforts from prior disasters.
An additional $24 billion would help farmers that have experienced crop or livestock losses, and $12 billion would go toward helping communities recover through block grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Some $8 billion more would help rebuild and repair highways and bridges in more than 40 states and territories. The administration is also seeking $4 billion for long-term water system upgrades to mitigate future damage from natural disasters.
The Small Business Administration has run out of money for a program that provides low-interest loans for businesses, nonprofits and homeowners trying to rebuild after a disaster. Biden is seeking $2 billion for that program. Several other agencies would also receive emergency funds if Congress agrees to the full request.
Lawmakers were expecting a hefty number from the administration. Johnson, R-La., said Congress will evaluate the request and “we’ll make sure we deliver for the hurricane victims and the people that have suffered from that.”
Johnson had also visited western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene to assess the damage. At the time, he said Congress would act in a bipartisan fashion to help communities recover, but he also said it would be ”the appropriate amount that the federal government should do.”
With many Republicans campaigning on reducing federal spending, there could be some debate about portions of Biden's request. The federal government doesn't help with every disaster. It generally gets involved only if the needs are above the ability of a community or state to handle.
Republicans are also outraged that a FEMA employee directed workers helping hurricane survivors not to go to homes with yard signs supporting Donald Trump's presidential campaign. The agency's leader, Administrator Deanne Criswell, said the employee was fired and the directive was a clear violation of the agency's core values to help people regardless of political affiliation.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to hear Wednesday from the heads of several of the government agencies that would receive funding through Biden's request. It's possible that emergency aid could be attached to any spending bill designed to keep federal agencies operating after current funding expires Dec. 20.
Biden noted that Congress had provided more than $90 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina nearly two decades ago, and more than $50 billion after Hurricane Sandy in 2013. He urged Congress to take “immediate action.”
“Just as the Congress acted then, it is our sworn duty now to deliver the necessary resources to ensure that everyone in communities reeling from Hurricanes Helene and Milton — and those still recovering from previous disasters — have the Federal resources they need and deserve,” Biden wrote.
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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
FILE - With President Joe Biden aboard, Marine One surveys areas affected by Hurricane Milton in Florida, from Tampa to St. Petersburg, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks following a briefing by federal, state, and local officials in St. Pete Beach, Fla., during a tour of areas affected by Hurricane Milton, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with Buck Paulk, property manager of Shiloh Pecan Farm, after he spoke at the farm in Ray City, Ga., Oct. 3, 2024, as part of his trip to see areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. Looking on at right is Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden, right, greets people in Keaton Beach, Fla., Oct. 3, 2024, during his tour of areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
