Out of control
Geez:
The evacuation of the Superdome was suspended Thursday after shots were fired at a military helicopter, an ambulance official overseeing the operation said. No immediate injuries were reported.
“We have suspended operations until they gain control of the Superdome,” said Richard Zeuschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, which was handling the evacuation of sick and injured people from the Superdome.
He said that military would not fly out of the Superdome either because of the gunfire and that the National Guard told him that it was sending 100 military police officers to gain control.
Meanwhile, The New York Times notes:
Many people with property brought out their own shotguns and sidearms. Many without brought out shopping carts. The two groups have moved warily in and out of each other’s paths for the last three days, and the rising danger has kept even some rescue efforts from proceeding.
Because the New Orleans police were preoccupied with search and rescue missions, sheriff’s deputies and state police from around Louisiana began to patrol the city, some holding rifles as they rolled through the streets in an armored vehicle.
But on Wednesday night, the mayor ordered about 1,500 city police officers, nearly the entire force, back to their traditional roles.
The looters “are starting to get closer to heavily populated areas,” Mayor C. Ray Nagin told The Associated Press, “hotels, hospitals, and we’re going to stop it right now.”
The hurricane was a disaster, must the aftermath be too?
