In the early hours of January 1, 2025, New Orleans’ Bourbon Street became the scene of a tragic attack that claimed 14 lives and injured at least 35 others. The suspect, identified as 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a pickup truck into a crowd.
Jabbar made several trips to the site in the leadup to the attack. Special Agent-in-Charge Lyonel Myrthil said on Sunday on behalf of the FBI: “He visited New Orleans in October and November, using Meta smart glasses to record himself biking on Bourbon Street.” It is clear that he has been planning this attack and was scouting the area for weeks. An ISIS flag was found on the vehicle’s trailer hitch. As a veteran of the US Army, this development was extremely unexpected, but confirmed by the FBI. This raises concerns about other veterans and people who may be involved with ISIS.
This attack was a tragic event that affected many different people and their families. Some of the families involved included individuals from diverse backgrounds, such as an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a New York trader and former Princeton football player, and a father of two. IT appears that the victims of this attack were not specifically targeted, and were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Many people are wondering if they could have had safety measures in place to prevent this from happening. Police and local authorities did make an effort to keep the streets safe and for the people to be safe by implementing barricades and blockades to keep the vehicles on the road. First initiated in 2017 to help prevent cars from crashing into buildings after the terrorist truck attack on Bastille day in Nice, France a year prior, the blockades were getting hammered with Mardi Gras beads and stopped working effectively. After the blockades stopped working, according to Rafael Goyeneche, head of the city’s independent Metropolitan Crime Commision, they ignored the problem. “Some security experts said New Orleans had left Bourbon Street dangerously vulnerable. And they pointed to other cities, including New York and Chicago, that had used other strategies to try to ensure safety” ( New York Times).
This tragic event has cast a shadow over New Orleans, a city known for its exciting and happy culture and festive spirit. The community is grieving the loss of innocent lives while also demonstrating resilience in the face of tragedy. With the super bowl set to play in New Orleans on Sun, Feb 9, 2025 we look to see what new security measures they take to ensure the safety of the players and the people.