The violence sent six people to the hospital, which inevitably forced valuable resources to be taken away from COVID-19 patients.

NEW ORLEANS — A man was shot and killed in broad daylight in Central City Thursday, New Orleans Police Department officials say. It's the sixth shooting in the city in less than 24 hours now under NOPD investigation.

According to preliminary police reports, the rash of violence left six people injured and one dead -- a second spike in gunfire in as many weeks in what had otherwise been a relatively peaceful coronavirus quarantine for the city.

The unnecessary violence sent six people to the hospitals already battling the COVID-19 outbreak.

Thursday's murder also comes two days after two NOPD officers were shot and wounded while confronting a pair of alleged car burglars in New Orleans East.

The shootings

The first shooting happened around 3:40 p.m. Wednesday on the border of the Broadmoor and Hoffman Triangle neighborhoods. An unresponsive man was found with a gunshot wound to his neck at the intersection of S. Broad and Washington avenues.

About two hours later, two men allegedly tried to rob another man in the 1200 block of France Street, in the St. Claude neighborhood. The 39-year-old victim told officers he turned to run and was shot. The suspects fled the scene and the victim was taken to the hospital via EMS.

Just 30 minutes after the second shooting, a 23-year-old man was grazed in the back by a bullet while driving in the Lower Ninth Ward. The man told police that someone shot at his car as he approached Egania and Marias streets off St. Claude Avenue.

It is unclear if the two St. Claude Avenue area shootings are connected.

Around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, an 18-year-old man was reportedly walking near the intersection of General DeGaulle Drive and Kraft Place in Algiers when a red vehicle drove up from behind and the driver shot him several times.

Five minutes later, officers were called to Wagner Street and Hero Boulevard in Algiers where two men were also reportedly shot in a drive-by shooting. Detectives were told that three men inside a four-door vehicle drove up to the two victims and started shooting. A 32-year-old was shot in the back and a 54-year-old was shot in the foot.

The violence quieted down until 11 a.m. Thursday when officers responded to calls that a man had been shot at Harmony and La Salle streets in Central City. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

To date, 44 people have been killed in the city of New Orleans in 2020 -- a murder rate that had slowed significantly since the start of the coronavirus pandemic but is liable to jump up with violent flare-ups.

Anyone with any information on these shootings is encouraged to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.