By: Anonymous Contributor
A deadly and devastating fire swept over the lower end of Bourbon Street on the evening of the 13th of February.
Reports from official sources allege that the gang known as the Rejects are to blame. The fires swept through the Northern strip of the city’s infamous party street, where tents and booths had been set up for the Mardi Gras event which took place over the past three days.
Revellers and citizens were evacuated from the area by HPD and FDH. The two were quick to respond, with the HPD carrying out crowd control and blocking off the street to on-lookers while the FDH were able to enter and set up in attempts to contain the blaze which rapidly spread amidst the booths and stage set up, destroying the canvas tents and wreaking severe damage to several of the businesses within the area.
There were reports of gun shots as police and firefighters battled to control the chaotic situation; Reject gang members reportedly fired repeatedly at police and a firefighter and a police officer were injured. It is uncertain what motivations lay behind the alleged acts of arson but the fire took hours to contain and eliminate with multiple fire trucks and ambulances at the scene and numerous people dispersed as the violence and fire drove people from the area.
The fallout from such actions remain to be seen but the city is steeling itself for repercussion and an onset of police action against the Reject gang and a possible escalation of the violence and devastation that has rocked the end of one of the city’s major festive events. Citizens would be advised to avoid areas in downtown where Reject activity is prevalent and to inform police if they notice anything alarming or suspicious going on.
The aftermath of the attack will run the city’s slow recovery from hurricanes past, to stretch the already strained city budgets and coffers beyond ability. Bourbon Street is the city’s economic earner, garnering more profit from it’s businesses-both legal and illegal–that line the block, offering citizens and visitors alike a good time, drinks and sensual pleasures of a risqué variety.
The Rejects are known to claim the area as their stomping grounds and exact business out on its streets when not marked by police activity. It is unclear at this point in time whether there were any disagreements between event organizers and the gang that might have triggered this attack
((Many thanks to our contributor for this article who is IC anonymous! We may have a second article on the fire / Rejects in due course))
