In her September 1 OpinionJournal.com column, Wall Street Journal contributing editor Peggy Noonan commented on the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and advocated killing looters in New Orleans, writing: “I hope the looters are shot.”

Noonan's September 1 column, titled “After the Storm,” carried the subtitle, “Hurricane Katrina: The good, the bad, the let's-shoot-them-now.” Noonan wrote:

As for the tragic piggism that is taking place on the streets of New Orleans, it is not unbelievable but it is unforgivable, and I hope the looters are shot. A hurricane cannot rob a great city of its spirit, but a vicious citizenry can. A bad time with Mother Nature can leave you digging out for a long time, but a bad turn in human behavior frays and tears all the ties that truly bind human being--trust, confidence, mutual regard, belief in the essential goodness of one's fellow citizens.