Monkey Hill Bar Latest Victim in Armed Robbery Spree Uptown

Another day, another dose of horrible news concerning Uptown's seemingly-trending brazen restaurant armed robberies. Robert Morris reports that three masked gunmen barged into longtime Magazine watering hole Monkey Hill Bar last night at 10:30 p.m. One gunman entered first and held up the bartender, while the other two entered quickly after, and according to The Advocate, forced customers onto the floor at gunpoint a la the Patois hold-up last month, and robbed them as well.

This comes just four days after Atchafalaya was robbed by two armed men, who actually kicked down yanked open the door of the restaurant after the manager tried to thwart the robbery by locking his patrons and staff inside. In late August, Patois was robbed by three gunmen, who forced about twenty people on the floor, pressing guns into their heads, and then robbing them, with the police  finally responding to the incident about thirty-minutes after it happened.

All of these armed robberies have been during business hours, and remain unsolved. While some Uptown restaurants are beefing up security measures, many cannot afford to.

Just yesterday, Mayor Mitch Landrieu held a press conference to "quell perceptions that New Orleans has reached a tipping point of violence," after police arrested a teen behind five armed robberies Uptown, and likely in direct response to the statement Councilwoman Latoya Cantrell issued after Thursday's Atchafalaya robbery, stating:

Our city stands on the verge of a tipping point of violence... The truth is, right now, there is not a single time or place that is safe, and we cannot remember the last violence-free day in our communities. We are failing as a city to defend and protect our citizens. To turn back this tide of terror, we must demand better.

The good news...it sounds like the city's collective outrage is finally getting through to the Mayor:

Violence in our city will not stand. These criminals will be found & jailed. We're pooling every resource available. More info coming. #NOLA

— Mitch Landrieu (@MayorLandrieu) September 29, 2015