New Orleans now has the highest per capita murder rate in the country. Most of the killings are concentrated in the city's poorest neighborhoods — places like Central City, just a few blocks north of the stately mansions that line St. Charles Avenue.
The city's mayor is launching a new program aimed at cracking what he describes as a deeply rooted culture of violence. But victims complain that a failed criminal justice system has left the streets to vigilante justice, with innocent residents caught in the crossfire.
On a recent morning in Central City, James Robinson is out for his usual stroll when he notices that the corner benches, where he often takes a rest, are missing.
"They tore the benches down, huh?" he asks neighbor Theresa Elloie. She says it's a blessing that the police cleared the benches out; they had become a hotbed for drug deals.
Robinson, 73, says the crime here is worse than he can remember.
"Every time you look up, it's a killing," he says. "It wasn't no killing up this way too much — not around here. But it's happening here now. Sit on the porch, you gettin' shot."
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