Posted on October 5, 2007

Atlanta Crime Spree Blamed On Katrina

WSB-TV (Atlanta), October 4, 2007

Atlanta police said they’ve been experiencing a level of crime never seen before in the city and a lot of it was imported from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

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Police said the men are the worst of the worst. Investigators said when the eight men murdered, they used AK-47’s and fired in public places. Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington admitted they were not the types of crimes they were used to seeing in Atlanta.

“I’m surprised they weren’t confrontational when we arrested them because they were totally prepared—bullet proof vests, automatic weapons—the things we don’t normally see here in Atlanta,” said Pennington.

Pennington said that it was the type of crime he was used to seeing when he headed up the New Orleans Police Department.

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Investigators said three of the men are Katrina evacuees and brought their violent crime spree to Atlanta.

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“Our residents have been asking, ‘What has been driving the crime rate in Atlanta? Particularly murders?’ We believe the eight individuals were in the front seat,” said Pennington.

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