Early New Year’s Day morning found New Orleans alive. Often referred to as the beating core of the city’s active nightlife, revelers spilled from the busy bars and packed clubs of the French Quarter.
“Everything was young children out here. Many 19, 20, and 21-year-olds,” said Derrick Albert, a local DJ who performs evenings at the junction of Canal and Bourbon streets.
Along with a busy hotel, a shop offering chocolate fudge and ice cream, and eateries serving oysters and daiquiris in big plastic cups, the famous junction is a focus for both residents and visitors.
But the festive mood changed to panic right away.
What transpired during the attack?
About 3:15 a.m., a man described as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a Texas native and US Army veteran, drove a leased white pickup vehicle into the packed streets. At least 15 people were killed and scores more were injured as the car plowed into party attendees, some gravely.
Grainy video footage caught the terrible series of events. The vehicle swerved around a police cruiser, sped down Canal Street, turned into Bourbon Street, accelerated, and hit the throngs.
“We just heard this squeal, the rev of an engine, and a huge, loud impact,” said Kimberly Stricklen, a visitor to New Orleans. Then the people started to scream. The sound of bodies and metal under pressure.
Mowing down more onlookers, the truck carried on three blocks until slamming close to Bourbon and Conti streets. Jabbar got out of the car and started aiming at police personnel, who responded with gunfire, killing him.
“We heard gunshots and saw people sprinting past the window,” said Steve Hyde, a British visitor seated at the Erin Rose bar on Conti Street. “Then the sirens began to ring. “I am broken. This city makes me love it.
Police Reaction?
Officers assigned for New Year’s Eve celebrations arrived on the scene by 3:17 a.m., requesting assistance. Their desperate radio calls caught the anarchy.
“My losses count at least six. On one I have an officer performing chest compressions. One officer mentioned another Caucasian male with agonal breathing.
Police, paramedics, and detectives soon crowded the space. Crime scene tape shut off streets, while emergency workers battled furiously to preserve lives.
For DJ Derrick Albert, the attack came close by. He had been compelled to relocate his DJ setup down the block by a recent city ticket.
Normally, he continued, referring to a Walgreens pharmacy at the crime site, “That’s usually my corner.” I would have perished as well. I had more than luck yesterday. He would have run straight ahead over me. That ticket kept my life intact. I would have been the first he touched.
What inspired the attack, and did any warning go missed?
The FBI exposed horrific specifics. Investigators discovered two suspected improvised explosive devices close by and the black flag of the Islamic State group inside the car. Investigating whether Jabbar acted alone or in line with a larger scheme is still in progress.
According to a 2017 letter, vehicle-based mass casualty assaults were a concern known to New Orleans officials. Similar events reported in France, the UK, and New York underlined in the linked paper begged issues regarding the city’s readiness.
Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick defended the police reaction: “We did have a car there. There were walls there. Officers were present and still got about. We did have a strategy, but the terrorist undermined it.”
Like many residents, Derrick Albert asked if more could have been done. “We all understood it would happen eventually. At Mardi Gras, perhaps. Perhaps the Super Bowl,” he suggested. Clearly, they could have stopped it. Over that they will be sued.”
Is New Orleans Bounce Back possible?
Twenty-four hours later, the corner of Canal and Bourbon streets remained a busy crime scene with police vehicles and tape still marking the area. Though tragic, life in the French Quarter started to gradually return to normal.
Football fans who had traveled for the postponed Sugar Bowl game between Georgia and Notre Dame flooded bars close to the attack scene.
Live jazz music battled the murmur of inquisitive listeners close to the crime scene. A Michael Jackson impersonator was doing his trademark moonwalk across the street as a coroner’s car left.
Resilience is second nature to many, including Albert, in New Orleans. Of course, he said boldly, “We will [bounce back].
After the Tragedy: What Issues Still Exist?
The attack has spurred discussions on security policies and the city’s preparedness to defend its residents while researchers go on their investigations. Particularly under close examination are gaps in the temporary barriers erected on Bourbon Street and a lone police car monitoring the area.
Still, the French Quarter—a monument to New Orleans’s continuing vitality—presses on. The music plays, the beverages pour, and the streets come alive. Tragic scars still exist, but so too does the city’s unquestioning will to honor life.
