The Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, has said she will send National Guard troops and state police to the city of New Orleans to help fight rising crime levels after five teenagers were shot and killed at the weekend.
The shooting has raised residents' fears that violent crime is returning before the city can completely recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
53 people have been killed so far this year.
Sections of New Orleans remain largely abandoned, almost a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the city.
The last National Guard patrols left New Orleans on 1 January, turning law enforcement duties back to local police, with patchy results.
Governor Blanco was responding to calls for reinforcements from Mayor Ray Nagin and the New Orleans City Council.
New initiatives will include a curfew, funding for 'night time basketball' to keep young people out of trouble and a push for an increase in police pay in order to attract recruits.
