NEW ORLEANS -- Police were investigating two killings within hours of each other, the first here in more than a week as the city heads into the summer, a period when police say crime typically rises. The shootings occurred more than 8 hours apart Friday and in different parts of New Orleans, police said. One of the victims was killed in the early afternoon, Officer Sabrina Richardson, a police spokeswoman, said Saturday. The killings - the first since mid-May - bring the number of murders in New Orleans to 73 so far this year, she said. And they come on the cusp of the summer, typically a "busy time" for police departments nationwide, Richardson said. "It's not unique to this city," Richardson said. "There are more people out and about and on the street." The murder rate is about double the rate in other years, which would alarm any city. But New Orleans is in a different situation than other cities: it's still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, which hit 21 months ago, and trying to recruit officers to a police force thinned after the storm. The city has about 1,400 officers, which compares to 1,668 before Katrina; police Superintendent Warren Riley has said that the gap widens further when sick or injured officers are taken into account. The National Guard has helped patrol less-populated neighborhoods for nearly a year - easing some of the burden on the department - but their mission is set to expire next month. Both Mayor Ray Nagin and Riley believe it's "critical" to keep soldiers here longer, through summer, which would allow more time to recruit and hire police officers, city spokesman James Ross said Saturday. A spokeswoman for Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Marie Centanni, said Blanco is weighing whether there's a need to keep the guard in New Orleans beyond June 30. Both Riley's request and comments from the National Guard and state police, which also have had a presence here, as part of that evaluation, Centanni said.
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