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Today is Tuesday, January 7th, 2020.

On this day in 1973, 23-year-old Mark Essex shot 19 people in New Orleans, Louisiana, many of them police officers.

He retreated to a rooftop where he held out for a 10 hour standoff.

Welcome to today in true crime, a parcast original. Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes, listener discretion is advised. Extreme

caution is advised for listeners under 13. Today we're covering the story of Mark

Essex, a former Navy seaman who went on a shooting spree

to avenge racial injustice.

Let's go back to the morning of January 7th, 1973.

It was a busy Sunday in New Orleans, Louisiana

and 23-year-old Mark Essex was on a mission.

Eight days ago, he'd shot and killed a police cadet and an officer at New Orleans Central Lockup. He'd managed to elude

capture for over a week, but recently he heard that a local grocer might be talking

about him to the cops.

Essex couldn't let that happen.

At around 10 a.m.

the former seamen strolled into the shop.

He confronted the grocer about the rumor. The man

...