(Photo: All pictures by Eric T. Styles)
New Orleans Police simultaneously investigated two separate, and apparently unrelated incidents in the French Quarter Friday, including a bomb threat on Decatur Street and a barricaded person on Dauphine Street.
A suspicious package — a box — was reported at about 9 a.m. near the intersection of Decatur and St. Ann streets, according to NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.
Update: 12/12/20, 1:51 p.m., CST: New Orleans Police have arrested 42-year-old Steve Nguyet, who was booked into Orleans Parish Justice Center on one count related to possessing/manufacturing a false explosive device. A bail amount was not listed.
Nguyen alleged there was a bomb inside the box and was detained by New Orleans Police, according to Ferguson, adding that department bomb technicians were on scene investigating the package.
Police have closed a portion of Decatur Street, from Wilkinson and Dumaine streets and the block from Decatur to Chartres streets, to evacuate the area and ask the public to keep clear during the investigation, Ferguson said.
In an unrelated incident, New Orleans Police responded to a report of a barricaded person in the 500 block of Dauphine Street.
The incident was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. when a victim attempted to enter a residence and encountered an armed male, identified as 37-year-old Eddy Roche, who fired a gun at the victim, according to Ferguson.
Update: 12/12/20, 1:51 p.m., CST: New Orleans Police arrested Roche, who was booked into Orleans Parish Justice Center on two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. A bail amount was not listed.
“He located an individual he did not expect to be within that residence,” Ferguson said. “That individual pointed a weapon at him [and] fired at him several times. Luckily, the victim was able to retreat out of that location unharmed and unscathed.”
The victim went to the First District station located on North Rampart Street and informed police, who responded to the Dauphine Street residence and located Roche inside.
Upon police arriving on scene, Roche ditched the gun and went into the backyard, where they barricaded themselves, according to Ferguson.
Officers from the New Orleans Police Special Operations Division and US Marshals responded to the scene and contacted Roche. Police established a perimeter around the residence along the 500 to 600 blocks of Dauhpine Street.
The person who entered the home may have been a contractor who entered the residence to conduct work, according to Ferguson.
This article was updated to reflect the correct reported times of the incidents and will be updated again when more information becomes available.