« Computers are idiots | Main | Google Video »

Superdome "violence": manifestation of fear under pressure

Rumors of violence, including rape and murder, at the New Orleans Superdome were evidently without basis, more likely a manifestation of fear + imagination under intense pressure. nola.com reports on investigations that yielded only six bodies, four dead from natural causes, plus a suicide and an overdose.

That the nation's front-line emergency management believed the body count would resemble that of a bloody battle in a war is but one of scores of examples of myths about the Dome and the Convention Center treated as fact by evacuees, the media and even some of New Orleans' top officials, including the mayor and police superintendent. As the fog of warlike conditions in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath has cleared, the vast majority of reported atrocities committed by evacuees have turned out to be false, or at least unsupported by any evidence, according to key military, law enforcement, medical and civilian officials in positions to know.

"I think 99 percent of it is bulls---," said Sgt. 1st Class Jason Lachney, who played a key role in security and humanitarian work inside the Dome. "Don't get me wrong, bad things happened, but I didn't see any killing and raping and cutting of throats or anything. ... Ninety-nine percent of the people in the Dome were very well-behaved."

jon posted this at 8:08 AM
Share on Facebook| email to a friend

 Subscribe to RSS feed for Weblogsky