5 slain in New Orleans's deadliest crime since storm

Authorities said they were looking for one or more suspects but did not elaborate.

Captain John Bryson said police think the shootings were either drug-related or some type of retaliation attack. A semiautomatic weapon was used, and many rounds were fired, he said.

Bryson said he could not remember the last time this many people were killed in the city in one shooting -- before or after Katrina.

Four of the victims -- a 16-year-old, a 17-year-old and two 19-year-olds -- died at the scene. Another 19-year-old, believed to be the brother of the youngest victim, died later at a hospital, police said.

There was no immediate word on whether any of the victims had been armed. Their identities were not immediately released.

Terrance Rayly, 23, who was staying in a home nearby, said he heard the shots after returning from a music club. ``It was like 15 gunshots," he said.

The shooting left many people feeling unsafe in the poor Central City neighborhood where people sat on porches and discussed the crime yesterday.

``This is like the sixth person killed around here in the last month," said Monique Jackson, a 27-year-old housekeeper who lives around the corner from the crime scene. ``It's getting bad now."

Crime, including murder, has been creeping back after Katrina emptied the city of its residents when it hit Aug. 29, flooding 80 percent of New Orleans. Current population estimates vary, but the city is believed to have less than half its pre-storm population of about 455,000.

So far, 52 people have been slain in the city since Jan. 1, half the number at this time last year, Bryson said.