NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Residents in New Orleans are concerned with the growing violence involving children in the community following two separate shootings that happened hours apart on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

Police responded to the first incident at 2300 A.P. Tureaud Ave. after receiving a report of a 16-year-old girl who was shot in the Seventh Ward.

A few hours later, officers responded to a call in the 8800 block of Nelson Street, where an 8-year-old boy was shot.

These two unrelated cases are rocking the neighborhoods where they happened.

“I really don’t know what to say. Knowing that he’s in this neighborhood, I’m pretty sure I know him. I’m scared to even find out who it is. I really am,” said resident Farro Wife.

Both of the victims survived their injuries, but that hasn’t stopped residents from expressing their fear that what we’re witnessing may be part of a much larger problem stemming from educational system deficiencies, both locally and elsewhere.

“It’s horrible. It’s horrible what’s happening to the black community as a whole all across the nation. It’s horrible. It needs to be addressed politically,” said resident Kevin Collins.

Dr. Ireal Fusco with Children’s Hospital says they have noticed an increase in young shooting victims.

“Over the past year, on average, we’ve seen around 36 cases. We’ve been observing at least one case a week. I’m not saying it’s happening every week, but if you calculate the number of shootings, we’ve witnessed in 2023, it averages out to about one shooting per week,” Fusco said.

Fusco says Children’s Hospital is doing its part to slow the tide by making homes safer.

“We are working, I believe, with the Department of Health to work on providing gun safes to people who, who need to have guns homes. But obviously we want to make sure that our kids aren’t having access to these very dangerous weapons,” Fusco said.

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