On Saturday evening, an altercation occurred in New Orleans’s French Quarter, resulting in the assault and stabbing of one victim. Now, police are on the search for the suspected assailant, who happened to be a street performer dressed as Star Wars’ Chewbacca.
There is no update on the victim’s condition yet.
According to NOPD, the incident occurred around 8:50 p.m. The performer and victim apparently got into a verbal disagreement on the 700 block of Toulouse Street in the Eight District before the man in the Chewbacca suit, whose true identity is still unknown, pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim.
The NOPD is “seeking to locate a suspect in the investigation of an aggravated battery.”
However, as per the police, a witness stated that the “subject’s costume head came off during the altercation and revealed the suspect to be a black male, possibly in his 20s.”
NOPD also tweeted the details with a picture of the subject in costume, asking locals or anyone with additional information on this incident to contact NOPD Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080 or call anonymously to Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or toll-free 1-877-903-STOP.
Social media users, however, have not been overly helpful in helping police apprehend the suspect. Instead, many took to Twitter to make cracks about the incident.
“I just saw him attacking a military installation near the forest moon of Endor,” wrote one.
“The force is strong with this one. Seriously though, hope you get him,” commented another. “It’s not wise to upset a Wookie,” said one.
Within the past week, NOLA has reported multiple shooting incidents, a few of them turning out to be fatal. The NOPD’s Homicide Unit cleared seven homicide investigations recently, as per News and Information from the New Orleans Police Department.
On Saturday night, French quarter voters passed a proposal for sales tax to further polic funding, reported NOLA.com, “The ballot measure requires the first $2 million of the tax go to fund extra police patrols in the French Quarter, with any additional money being made available for other police or public safety programs.”
