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More tragedy out of New Orleans, just days after the terrorist attack on Bourbon Street. On January 1, Samshud-Din Jabbar drove an F-150 truck down Bourbon near Canal Street, killing 14 people and injuring many others. On Saturday January 4, an assistant district attorney in Orleans Parish was found dead an apparent suicide that occurred in the office of the district attorney.

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A New Orleans assistant district attorney died by suicide Saturday night inside the district attorney’s office.

According to New Orleans police, ADA Ian Kersting was found suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound around 9 p.m. in the 6100 block of South White Street.

When emergency medical services arrived at the scene, Kersting was pronounced dead.

Thirty-four year old Kersting was was admitted to the Louisiana bar in October 2020. His work as an ADA involved sexual harassment cases. Kersting was specifically assigned to the office’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). SAKI coordinated with the New Orleans Police Department, investigating and prosecuting sex crimes through recovered DNA evidence. From their social media channels on Facebook and at Orleansda.com, the SAKI arm closed a number of cases.

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The Office of the District Attorney in Orleans Parish released a statement on the incident:

“The Orleans Parish DA’s Office family suffered a terrible tragedy Saturday night. Assistant District Attorney Ian Kersting was a beloved member of our office, and we send our love and deepest condolences to his family. It’s important that we support each other right now, and we ask the media respect the privacy of the individuals impacted.”