New Orleans mother gave son gun to take revenge after fight, police say

A mother and her teenage son have been accused of second-degree murder, with police saying the mother gave him a gun after he lost a fight and told him to take revenge.

Photo: New Orleans mother gave son gun to take revenge after fight, police say

The name of the 17-year-old victim was not immediately released, New Orleans police Sgt. Joe Narcisse said Thursday. Vanessa Johnson, 44, and Clarence Johnson, 17, have not been found.

New Orleans, still coping with the effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, is struggling with a recent surge in violence.

The city saw nine killings in the first eight days of this year, and police last month increased patrols, set up early-morning checkpoints and rushed murder cases through the court system. National Guard troops and state police remain in the city after being called in last summer to help fight a similar spike in violence, reeports AP.

In this latest murder, police said Clarence Johnson found the other teen shortly after their fight and fired several rounds, hitting him once in the abdomen, Narcisse said. The victim died at the city's trauma center.