New Orleans police say caught killer of five teens

NEW ORLEANS, July 14 (Reuters) New Orleans police charged a 19-year-old man with the gun slaying last month of five teens that sparked a panic about rising crime in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Michael Anderson killed five teens who were driving a sport utility vehicle through a central section of the city shortly before dawn on June 17, police said. Two managed to exit the truck but none escaped the scene, found littered with bullet casings.

''They were in the car and I can tell you that the driver was the first person that was shot,'' said Police Chief Warren Riley, announcing police arrested Anderson yesterday after a tip from residents.

''He is a career criminal,'' Riley added. ''We do have a witness who is very concerned,'' he said.

Anderson, dressed in a sleeveless white T-shirt, was taken to jail by police through a gauntlet of reporters and cameras.

He did not respond to questions.

The slaying was one of the worst in the history of the violent city and set off a firestorm of protests.

Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, flooding 80 per cent of the city, killing more than 1,500, and forcing almost all residents to evacuate -- including most of the criminals.

Crime has risen this year, after an initial fall-off. There have been 62 murders to date, versus 139 last year, police said. That is a drop in absolute terms, but only about half of the city's population has returned.

National Guard troops arrived to back up the hard-pressed police days after the multiple slaying and have been ordered to stay for the summer, patrolling largely abandoned sections of the city hurt most by the storm so that police can focus on trouble spots.

Riley said that Anderson and the dead teens may have had an argument that night or been involved in an earlier drug-related incident. ''We're not sure if they really knew each other that well,'' he said.

Drug sellers returning to abandoned sections of New Orleans moved into more populated areas, setting off turf wars, Riley said. Four people were killed in a separate incident north of the city in late June. But turf wars are decreasing, Riley said, while citizens are calling police more often.

''Citizens do not want the city to get to the pre-Katrina type of crime and I think people are standing up a little bit more,'' he said.

REUTERS SHB KP1012