Acting at the mayor's request, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco said she would send National Guard troops and state police to patrol the streets of New Orleans after a bloody weekend in which six people were killed.
"The situation is urgent," Blanco said on Monday. "Things like this should never happen, and I am going to do all I can to stop it."
The governor did not specify how many troops and officers she planned to deploy. Earlier on Monday, Mayor Ray Nagin asked for as many as 300 National Guardsmen and 60 state police officers.
PHOTO: AP
It was the first time the National Guard has been used for law enforcement in the US since immediately after Hurricane Katrina.
Nagin had sought the troops after five teenagers in a sport utility vehicle were shot and killed in the city's deadliest attack in at least 11 years. Police said the attack was apparently motivated by drugs or revenge. Also, a man was stabbed to death on Sunday night in an argument over beer.
"Today is a day when New Orleanians are stepping up. We've had enough," Nagin said. "This is our line in the sand. We're saying we're not going any further."
Nagin said he would not allow criminals to take over when the city is still trying to recover from the hurricane.
The mayor said that troops should be posted in heavily flooded neighborhoods in order to free police to concentrate on hot spots elsewhere.
Community leaders have raised fears that the violence could discourage people from moving back to New Orleans.
The National Guard had as many as 15,000 soldiers in the city in the weeks after Katrina. As many as 2,000 stayed until February, the Louisiana National Guard spokesman said.
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