While carnival season may have concluded, crimes, tragedies and joyous festivals alike continued during spring break.

Three stabbings and six shootings were reported by the New Orleans Police last weekend. This past weekend, New Orleans officials stated that several killings transpired in a 24-hour time period. At 2:40 a.m, a 21-year-old was shot while driving on a Pines Village interstate. A few hours later, at 6:27 a.m., a 40-year-old man, after a verbal confrontation, was stabbed in the back in the Seventh Ward. More violence occurred until 12:32 a.m. the next morning in New Orleans East, the Iberville neighborhood and in the French Quarter.

11 bronze statues, totaling $47,000, were stolen from Covington artist Bill Binnings last weekend. Binnings, a sculptor for the past 50 years, is known for his bronze work outside of the Madisonville Library and his depiction of life-sized children in front of a Covington school. The artist has works throughout Louisiana, including Gretna, Ponchatoula and Slidell. Binning noticed that his works, along with $2,000 worth of sculpting tools, were taken when he arrived at his studio on Saturday morning. Binnings believes the location of the shop, located in a sparsely populated area of northeast Covington, lended itself to be looted by a thief familiar with the space.

Drunk-driving deaths on Endymion parade route. On Saturday, March 2, a crash on Esplanade Avenue resulted in two fatalities, Sharree Walls and David Hynes, graduates of Tulane Law School. These tragedies have ignited controversies regarding whether there should be expanded public transportation options at the major parades preceding and during Mardi Gras.

After a long Carnival season, St. Patrick’s Day parades begin this weekend. On Friday afternoon, the Real Irish Channel parades began practicing for their event on March 16. The promise of even more beads, festive Irish garb and old St. Paddy’s Day tunes make this parade an event not to miss.