Police Chief Says Thousands Trapped in New Orleans Convention Center

AP ^ | 1-Sept-2005 | AP

[Fitzcarraldo]

The New Orleans police chief says 15-thousand people are trapped in the city's convention center. And he says some are being raped and beaten.

Chief Eddie Compass says displaced tourists are "walking in that direction and they are getting preyed upon."

Compass said he sent eight eleven-man teams into the convention center. But as soon as the first team arrived, he said, "they were beaten back within 30 feet of the entrance."

Earlier, the city's mayor issued a "desperate SOS" on behalf of the thousands who are stranded at the convention center.

He also gave the go-ahead for them to march across a bridge to a dry area of the city and look for whatever relief they could find.

[pax_et_bonum]

And they want to send these people to us in the Houston area.

Great.

[BlessedByLiberty]

I have a very large family in NO, St. Bernard Parish and surrounding areas. Everyone who was ever born or lived in NOLA knew this was their version of "The Big One" that Californians live with.

There are people who stay behind in hurricanes simply to take advantage - to loot form their vulnerable neighbors and businesses; some who stay to "party," some who are incapable of understanding the danger of Mother Nature at her worst.

It is hard to leave your home, but if you and your family are dead or at the mercy of these untamed war lords that we are now seeing, what good are your possessions?

NOTE: Evidently what occurred with some of the evacuation: bus drivers of mass transit and school buses were ordered to return and park them. Those buses should have been used to evacuate those who were unable to leave: tourists, the elderly and children. (There is a thread of photos from Katrina which shows the school buses) Who ordered the buses parked?

[wardaddy]

i am continuously amazed at incredulous fellow freepers who have not one whit of a clue about the modern American decaying urban landscape.

i mean....do you folks live in some Pollyanna vacuum?

any fool down South knew this would happen just like this if the catastrophic events unfolded as they have

pity those already suffering innocents stuck in it all....

i still remember those goofy tourist kids on TV obligingly trotting off to the Superdome....I thought then....they are naive and wonderful prey

[Enterprise]

At times like this, I bow my head in respect to officers who confront these bastards on the streets, and to the correctional officers in the prisons who deal with them on a daily basis. At some point, society has to execute them. There is no other way, unless a way can be found to safely and permanently exile them from society.

[Fitzcarraldo]

"...FAST (?) team has arrived at Carville..."

[rintense]

Oh man, head of LA Homeland Security saying they were behind the ball in expecting what to deal with. UGH.

[NRA2BFree]

Why would tourists still be there?

There was a gathering of homosexuals who were having their convention in New Orleans again. Last year it drew 150K Nancy boys, where they filmed "Girly Boys Gone Wild I." LOL

It was supposed to have started a couple of days ago. It could be they were just hanging around waiting to see who they could pick up. :o)

[wardaddy]

NO has huge crime problem

and as we are learning , this tragedy has just given them more opportunity

some stayed just for this...no doubt

a target rich environment by urban thug culture standards

I wonder why there wasn't more of this in Lower Manhattan after 9-11?

[Fitzcarraldo]

FAST = Fleet assault special ops team?

Vehicles with ammunition being discussed

[wardaddy]

Carville (home of the snake) used to be a Fed Prison and Sanitarium

[HostileTerritory]

It wasn't supposed to start for another couple of weeks, according to that WorldNet article that keeps getting pulled when it's posted.

[Clemenza]

9/11 happened in a small, contained area. If a natural disaster ever hit NYC, you can bet that things would get out of control in the outer boroughs, particularly with a candy-ass like Bloomberg in charge. That fop would be at his estate in Bermuda.

[wardaddy]

once an admission like that surfaces....it will flood

[chris1]

It was a joke. These people are so amazingly dumb.

[rintense]

What ever happened to expecting the worst and preparing for it? Sheesh. I just don't get how those who live down there would have expected things wouldn't get out of control.

[Jim Noble]

i am continuously amazed at incredulous fellow freepers who have not one whit of a clue about the modern American decaying urban landscape.

I think that people have more or less consciously put that landscape out of mind.

Opening their eyes to see it threatens too many illusions.

Look at Florida. It is entirely possible to visit Florida for a vacation and never see a black person - in one of the blackest states in the union. South Carolina, ditto.

The social experiment which began in the 1950s has divided black America in twain - into those who can, and those who can't.

Those who can't are concentrating - in Detroit, in SE DC, and in rural Florida and SC. And there are, or were, lots of 'em in Nawlins.

This could happen anywhere those who can't are concentrated. And nobody has any realistic idea what to do about it.

[SpookBrat]

Where's the mayor anyway? I haven't seen him in two days. Has he been on the news? I must have missed it.

[wardaddy]

it sure seems worse than Andrew and I was at Andrew after the strike


I was out of the country and my family was in South Miami.

the looting and savagery was nothing like this

now the Miami McDuffie riots were Godawful

one man pulled from his car and beheaded for being melanin deficient

the Cubans stopped the advance of the marauders....good ol Cubans

[Chena]

I know it was a joke, I just added to it. :) And yes, those people are dumber than dumb, and they are also evil.

[wardaddy]

I was thinking about that bunch

they hadn't a clue what easy prey they were...especially the women..