Bourbon Street is once again crowded with locals and tourists, but this time it’s also adorned with crosses, candles, stuffed animals and flowers.
Many Georgians traveled to New Orleans to watch the University of Georgia Bulldogs play against Notre Dame after ringing in the new year. Now, attention turns to the Jan. 20 College Football Playoff National Championship. Some locals are wary, others are confident officials will take measures to prevent violence.
“The mood is somber — so many of us were so close to real tragedy,” said Scott Johnson, a Georgia fan from Cobb County who was in New Orleans. “It’s hard to feel like celebrating or think about football when innocent lives were taken just yards away.”
At least 14 people were killed and more than 30 were injured, including a University of Georgia student, during what authorities said was an Islamic State-inspired attack in New Orleans’ French Quarter during New Year’s Day festivities.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas with a military background and ties to metro Atlanta, was identified as the attacker and died during a shootout with police. Officials said he was carrying an ISIS flag when he drove a rented Ford pickup through a crowd of people on Bourbon Street. Investigators are working to determine any ties to terrorist organizations. Although authorities initially said they believed there could be other suspects, they later said they believed Jabbar acted alone.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to New Orleans on Monday to meet with the families of those affected.
Here’s what we know so far.
How it all unfolded
Around 3:15 a.m. Central Time on New Year’s Day, Jabbar barreled through Bourbon Street crowds, got out of the truck and began firing at police officers, injuring two. Officers returned fire, killing Jabbar.
Jabbar had shared videos on his Facebook page hours before the attack that previewed the violence he was about to carry out and expressed allegiance to the Islamic State, The Associated Press reported.
While New Orleans officials installed adjustable barriers several years ago at French Quarter intersections to block vehicles, the steel columns were in the process of being replaced and were not activated early on New Year’s Day when the attack occurred, the AP reported.
A sorrowful Bourbon Street reopens
Bourbon Street reopened early Thursday afternoon, and the French Quarter fully reopened by Friday. The New Orleans Police Department said in a Friday afternoon news release that they had “resumed normal police operations … in the French Quarter and along Bourbon Street,” but that they are increasing daily “security presence in partnership with other law enforcement agencies.”
French Quarter employees described a surreal return to work. Sean Flanagan, a bartender at Swig and Swine Barbecue near Toulouse Street, told NOLA.com on Friday morning he was filled with dread as he reopened.
Chelsey Pond, a bartender at Mango Mango Daiquiris on the corner of Conti Street, told the outlet that “unfortunately, life still goes on for us who are still here.” She said she was surprised to see people back on the streets as soon as the area reopened.
The French Quarter was solemn on Thursday after the Sugar Bowl. Thousands of fans marched from the Caesars Superdome to the area, where the yellow tape and police cordons that had blocked Bourbon Street had been removed. Instead, armored vehicles and heavily armed officers guarded the open entrance of the famed street.
It seemed there was a police officer for every five revelers. Every few blocks, a clutch of officers mounted on horseback greeted passersby. In surrounding streets, too, the police presence was near-ubiquitous. The intent was clear: a show of force to calm nerves.
Credit: Greg Bluestein
Credit: Greg Bluestein
But there was also ample reminder of the tragedy that unfolded there a few days earlier. A giant metal barricade towered over the busy intersection where Bourbon Street met Canal Street, along with smaller metal devices meant to prevent vehicles from jumping onto the sidewalks.
Every few blocks, there were somber memorials. A light-blue cross surrounded by candles and flowers. Four teddy bears draped by mourning beads. A sign nearby indicated a vigil at 7 p.m. local time on Saturday.
Officials confirmed they would provide timely updates about traffic, street closures and security for events like the Super Bowl, which will take place Feb. 9 at the Caesars Superdome, and Mardi Gras, happening March 4.
“To protect the integrity of our security efforts, we won’t be sharing specific details about operational plans,” the New Orleans Police Department said. “Rest assured, we continuously evaluate and adjust these plans to keep the community safe.”
Atlanta looks ahead to the big game here
With the College Football Playoff National Championship game coming up on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, officials plan a Jan. 14 news conference to discuss security plans. Local residents are eager for details.
“There will be such a heightened awareness, so every agency is going to be more vigilant,” Leonard Watkins, who lives in Vine City, a neighborhood near the stadium, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday. “I think it’s going to be an oversaturation of law enforcement actually.”
Scotty Forsure of Stonecrest said he will be exercising extra caution around large crowds and big events after what happened on Bourbon Street.
“I’m kind of a little terrified, because that’s crazy out of nowhere,” said Forsure, who works as a valet in downtown.
Horace Cooper of Peachtree City, a regular at major football games in downtown, noted Atlanta authorities are well-versed in handling large crowds and potential threats. He pointed to the 1996 Summer Olympics bombing as an example of why Atlanta law enforcement “are already proactive.”
“By being in Atlanta, we always have something going on here,” he said. “We have a police force during the games that they are geared up for.”
The 1996 bombing was something some Georgians recounted following the New Year’s Day incident. Philip Rafshoon, the Midtown Alliance’s director of member engagement, was in New Orleans when the attack happened. He said he was at Centennial Olympic Park the night of the 1996 incident during the Atlanta Olympics and left about an hour before that attack happened.
“It’s déjà vu all over again,” he said.
Just hours after the attack in New Orleans, Atlanta hosted the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta police said Wednesday that they implemented increased security and additional personnel to the downtown and midtown areas in response to the attack.
What we know about the suspect
Jabbar once lived in Cobb and DeKalb counties, and officials with Georgia State confirmed he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Computer Information Systems in 2017 and has not been an active student since.
DeKalb divorce court records show Jabbar filed for divorce from a Cobb woman in May 2016. They had married in September 2013 and had no children. He reportedly also married and divorced in Texas.
A series of Cobb police reports over a span of eight months between 2015 and 2016 show instances of alleged domestic violence between Jabbar and his wife at the time. Cobb police confirmed they had no record of arresting or charging Jabbar in the incidents.
Jabbar spent more than a decade in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, deploying to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
In the Army, he served as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from March 2007 until January 2015, according to the U.S. Army. He was an IT specialist in the Army Reserve from January 2015 until July 2020. At the end of his service, Jabbar had attained rank of staff sergeant.
The victims
Thousands of college football fans traveled to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl, originally meant to be held on New Year’s Day but postponed to Jan. 2. Students from UGA and Notre Dame, locals and those from across the national flooded the city for the game and to ring in the new year when the attack happened.
University of Georgia sophomore Elle Eisele, 18, of Florida, was critically injured during the attack and her friend Steele Idelson was injured.
Credit: TikTok photo
Credit: TikTok photo
The New Orleans coroner’s office had identified all but one of the 14 fatally injured victims by Friday evening, the AP reported. They include: Elliot Wilkinson, 40, of Louisiana; Terrence “Terry” Kennedy of Louisiana; William “Billy” DiMaio, 25, New Jersey; Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, of Louisiana; Kareem Badawi, 23, of Louisiana; Andrew “Drew” Dauphin, 26, of Alabama; Matthew Tenedorio, 25, of Mississippi; Nikyra Dedeaux, 18; Reggie Hunter, 37, of Louisiana; Martin “Tiger” Bech, 27; Brandon Taylor, 43, of Louisiana; Nicole Perez, 27, of Louisiana; Edward Pettifer, 31, of London. One woman had not been identified.
Pettifer was the stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the nanny of Price William and his brother, Prince Harry, between 1993 and 1999, the AP reported. London’s Metropolitan Police told the AP they are supporting the family and helping them return Pettifer’s body to the U.K.
Several GoFundMe campaigns have been initiated, including one started by former NFL receiver Antonio Brown to aid the 14 families who lost a loved one.
Atlanta Hawks forward Larry Nance also donated to several campaigns, stating on X, “Will always have so much love for the NOLA community.”
— Staff writer Greg Bluestein contributed reporting from New Orleans to this article.
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