Reports: Man who tried to rob tourists with butter knives arrested on Bourbon Street

Emile Ewell booking photo via the Orleans Parish Justice Center.

Police on August 14 arrested a man allegedly tried to rob tourists on Bourbon Street as he wielded two butter knives, according to various news reports.

The incident happened in the 200 block of Bourbon Street at about 7 p.m., according to news reports. The 58-year-old Emile Ewell allegedly asked two men for money, asking one man for a dollar and the other for fifty cents. When they wouldn’t give the money to Ewell, he reportedly pulled out two butter knives and tried to attack the men before they wrestled him to the ground.

Before he was arrested, witnesses say the shirtless Ewell caused a scene Wednesday evening in front of dozens of onlookers, allegedly attempting to pick pockets and snatch young children.

This happened on a day when thousands of police officers were in town for the annual National Fraternal Order of Police conference from August 11-15.

Records show Ewell was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on August 15 with two counts of attempted armed robbery.