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'Enough is enough:' Chief frustrated with murders, tells people to give up the killers
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BATON ROUGE- A visibly frustrated Baton Rouge Police Chief urged people to come forward with leads as his detectives are working nonstop to solve a wave of murders that have gripped the Capital City this week.
Stream WBRZ newscasts online here
Among the five dead in four days since Monday is a toddler, killed in a triple murder on Memorial Day when gunmen opened fire at the pool area of an apartment complex on College Drive. The child was killed by a stray bullet.
"As a community, we've got to say enough is enough," Chief Murphy Paul said in a TV interview with Chris Nakamoto Thursday. "How many other babies are we going to lose?"
Already, 2021 has been notoriously deadly. Baton Rouge has seen a wave of violence since January: Homicides are up 43-percent compared to the same time last year and 2020 was a record year for homicides.
"Our focus is on problem individuals," Paul said. "When we talk about that six percent, there's less than six percent of the population responsible for the violent crimes that we are seeing who are repeat offenders who demonstrate problem behavior."
Paul has repeatedly said a revolving door of sorts allows criminals to continue to commit crimes. After each arrest, a suspect winds up back on the streets. In December, the WBRZ Investigative Unit profiled the problem: Offenders are arrested, issued a bond to get out of jail and commit more crimes while out of custody.
As the chief begs for information, the family of the toddler killed Monday is demanding justice - and much more. They want more resources available for the city's most troubled.
"There are no resources for our young guys now," the toddler's grandfather, George Provost, said. "There's nothing else to do. If you don't have resources or exposure but to anything but violence and foolery that's all you'll know."
Paul said police hear the pleas from the family. The chief is pleading himself, asking for anyone tied to the killers' inner circle to come forward.
Police believe two gunman are responsible for the Monday night shooting that killed the toddler.
"There's someone in his inner circle - a family member or friend - who knows," Paul said. "Turn him in. Pick up the phone right now and call us because you know it wasn't right. My message is to them because he doesn't have a heart. If he did he would not have done what he did."
The Crime Stoppers tip line is 225-344-7867.
Click HERE for a series of stories from WBRZ on the investigation surrounding the toddler's murder.
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