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NOLA violence hits home

I discovered a wonderful little bakery near my house a few weeks ago, and it's become my go-to study spot, mainly because coffee refills are free, the tables are big, and they have the most delicious scones ever. (It's called the Laurel Street Bakery, and I wrote about it in my recent blog titled, "Newspapers are dead?")

Lots of times at the bakery, if it's not the breakfast or lunch rush, it'll just be me and one employee in there. I love the peace and quiet and the smell of stuff baking. Feels a lot like home, in fact.

Today, I got out of class at 11:15 a.m. and headed to the bakery in my car. The streets were blocked off all around it, police cars parked everywhere. Turns out someone tried rob the bakery this morning at gunpoint and there was a shootout inside. Luckily, no one was hurt, except one of the suspects was shot.

The employees, I don't know how they must feel right now. I don't know their names yet, but the three girls that work the counter are always so nice. There's the one in grad school, the other one that's trying to get some poetry published and the other gal that has the really cute dog that she brings to the bakery every once in a while.

When I moved to this city in August, I was aware that it was a big city known for its violence. But most of the time, it's not right down the street at my favorite bakery.

Here's the article from the local newspaper:

Suspect in botched Uptown robbery shot by officer
by Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune
Tuesday October 14, 2008, 1:03 PM
A 16-year-old boy was wounded and his alleged partner arrested following a botched robbery attempt this morning inside an Uptown bakery.

The two would-be robbers entered the Laurel Street Bakery in the 5400 block of Laurel Street around 11 a.m. and flashed a handgun at employees, New Orleans Police Officer Janssen Valencia said.

An officer with the state probation and parole division happened to be inside the bakery, and one took aim at the suspect and fired, shooting him the abdomen, police said.

Police said the probation and parole officer fired shortly after the suspect pointed his gun at him.

The two suspects fled the scene, police said. The wounded suspect, a 16-year-old boy, was transported to a local hospital. Police did not release his condition.

The other suspect fled in a white sport-utility vehicle and was apprehended minutes after the robbery attempt, several blocks away at the intersection of Tchoupitoulas and State streets, police said.

The identities of the suspects and the officer who fired his weapon have not been released. No money or property was taken in the robbery attempt.

Police said additional details will be provided later, as the investigation continues. A police spokesman hinted that the wounded suspect may be responsible for three recent robberies in the Uptown area. Those investigations remain open, however, and no one has been booked yet.

Posted by Lara Richards at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)