Honoring the real heroes.
Of course by now we all know what happened in New Orleans in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day.
Around 3:15 AM, a terrorist inspired by ISIS drove a pickup truck through a crowd of people celebrating the new year on the famous Bourbon Street, killing 14 and injuring dozens more. The suspect, identified as 42-year old Shamsud Din Jabbar, then exited the vehicle and opened fire on police officers, two of whom were wounded, before being shot and killed by officers who returned fire.
Jabbar reportedly had homemade explosive devices in his truck, and at least two devices were also found around the French Quarter and disarmed by police.
The FBI also revealed that Jabbar had an ISIS flag on the rented pickup truck, and had posted several videos in the hours before the attack claiming to have been inspired by the terrorist organization.
At this point, officials believe that the suspected acted alone, after initially saying that they were searching for others who may have been involved in the attack.
The despicable act caused the Sugar Bowl to be postponed from yesterday to today as officials continued their investigation and cleared the crime scene, and earlier today the famous Bourbon Street reopened to visitors for the first time.
As people slowly made their way back into the French Quarter, a memorial to the victims began to pop at the intersection of Bourbon and Canal Street, where the attack began when the terrorist drove onto the sidewalk to bypass a police car blocking the street.
A growing memorial at Canal and Bourbon to honor the 14 dead and 37 injured in a terrorist attack in New Orleans.
People have been driving in from as far as Texas to leave flowers, candles and crosses.@FOX8NOLA pic.twitter.com/zSB9PfcW6M
— Andrés Fuentes (@news_fuentes) January 3, 2025
And further on down, crowds lined Bourbon Street to applaud and cheer for the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department as they passed on horseback.
Crowds of people on Bourbon St. cheer on @NOPDNews mounted patrol thanking them. pic.twitter.com/QaU2mAXPt7
— Cassie Schirm (@Cassiewdsu) January 3, 2025
There’s no doubt the officers saved lives during the attack after confronting the terrorist, and webcam video from the moment the call went out showed officers taking off in a full sprint as they ran towards the attack:
Wow. These cops on Bourbon Street went flying on foot when the call came in. pic.twitter.com/uY2jWrbIZw
— Abby H (@KravGirl2004) January 1, 2025
Heroes, every single one of them.
Of course the investigation is still ongoing into the horrific attack, and Louisiana Senator John Kennedy promised to ensure that the federal government told the people the whole truth once they had answers about what happened:
“Here’s what I want to ask from the federal government: Catch these people. And then tell the American people the truth.
Now, I don’t want you to tell us yet anything that’s going to interfere with your investigation… But after we get to the bottom of this, they need to tell the American people the truth. And the people of New Orleans the truth…
I guess my final point is, I will promise you this: When it is appropriate and this investigation is complete, you WILL find out what happened and who is responsible, or I will raise fresh hell, and I will chase those in the federal government who are responsible for telling us what happened like they stole Christmas.”
I know police officers are often unfairly demonized, and often times those in leadership deserve the criticism they receive (like those who were shocked when the NOPD chief admitted that she didn’t know the department had sidewalk barricades in its possession until after the attack).
But the men and women who are out there on the front lines, who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe and run towards the danger as everyone else runs away, deserve nothing but praise and appreciation. And when Bourbon Street finally reopened after the heinous terrorist attack, that’s exactly what they received.
