(Reuters) – The city of New Orleans had begun replacing security barriers along Bourbon Street before Wednesday’s truck attack, which killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30.
In response to vehicle attacks on pedestrian malls around the world, New Orleans was in the process of removing and replacing the barriers known as bollards that restrict vehicle traffic in the Bourbon Street pedestrian zone. The barriers had been first installed in 2017 ahead of the NBA All Star game as part of a $40 million security plan.
NOLA.com reported on Wednesday that an old barrier at the crosswalk of Canal and Bourbon streets was removed a few weeks ago and equipment for a replacement was in place. The newspaper quoted Bob Simms, who oversees security initiatives for the French Quarter Management District, saying the older barriers were “very ineffective.”
A 2017 report commissioned by the city noted that the French Quarter “is often densely packed with pedestrians and represents an area where a mass casualty incident could occur.”
The reported said the “area also presents a risk and target area for terrorism that the FBI has identified as a concern that the City must address.”
New Orleans, which first installed bollards following other vehicular attacks around the globe, said it was now installing removable, stainless-steel bollards that can be securely locked behind each crosswalk.
According to the city’s website, the project is to be completed by late January, in time for the Feb. 9 NFL Super Bowl being played about a mile away at New Orleans’ Superdome.
New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver in the New Year’s Day attack was able to drive around barricades. “Because of the intentional mindset of this perpetrator — who went around the barricades in order to conduct this — he was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” she said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old Texas man accused of crashing a truck into New Year’s Day revelers in New Orleans, killing and injuring dozens of people, was a U.S. Army veteran who later worked in real estate, according to officials and public records.
Federal officials and local law enforcement in New Orleans say that Jabbar did not act alone and that they are looking for accomplices. The FBI said Jabbar had an Islamic State flag on his truck and view the attack as a potential act of terrorism. The Islamic State, or ISIS, is a Sunni Muslim militant group which has carried out attacks throughout the world.
While the investigation is ongoing, so far no information has surfaced to explain why Jabbar, a U.S. citizen raised in Texas, would carry out the New Orleans attack. Jabbar died at the scene in a shootout with police, officials said.
Jabbar was a veteran of the U.S. Army from which he appears to have been honorably discharged, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan told a briefing on Wednesday. In addition to serving in the Army, Jabbar enlisted in the Navy in August 2004 under a delayed entry program but was discharged a month later, a Navy official told Reuters.
In a promotional video for his real estate business posted to YouTube in 2020, a man by the same name as the suspect said he served in the military for 10 years as a human resources and IT specialist, learning the importance of great service and taking everything seriously.
“I’ve taken those skills and applied them to my career as a real estate agent, where I feel like what really sets me apart from other agents is my ability to be able to one be a fierce negotiator,” he said, encouraging clients to give him a call.
In the video, the man introduced himself as a manager at Blue Meadow Properties LLC, a Texas-based company whose license expired in 2022. He was registered as a real estate sales agent for four years through February 2023, records show.
He said he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas.
Reuters was unable to reach anyone at the number provided by Jabbar in the video. Attempts to contact Jabbar’s relatives were also unsuccessful.
The FBI believes Jabbar rented the Ford pickup truck he used to ram into the crowd in New Orleans’ French Quarter in the early hours of Wednesday. Jabbar then opened fire on police, injuring 35 in addition to the at least 10 people who have died.
The ISIS flag on the truck prompted an investigation into possible links to terrorist organizations. Investigators found weapons and a potential explosive device in the vehicle, as well as other potential explosive devices in the French Quarter.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible. We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates,” Duncan said.
(reporting by Nathan Layne in West Palm Beach, Florida; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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