New Year’s Day Reads

Scene of New Orleans vehicle attack At least 10 people were killed after a pickup truck rammed through a crowd on New Year’s Day in New Orleans.

Happy New Year!!

Here’s hoping we survive Trump 2.0.

I woke up this morning to the news of a terror attack in New Orleans during New Year’s celebrations. From The Boston Globe: Suspect in New Orleans crash that killed 10 people is dead after firefight with police, officials say.

10 people were killed and 30 injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon Street

The suspect in the New Orleans truck crash that killed 10 people and injured 30 revelers in New Orleans on New Year’s Day was killed after a firefight with police, law enforcement officials told the AP.

The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

The suspect rammed a vehicle at high speed into a crowd of pedestrians in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter district at 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street, known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties, and with crowds in the city ballooning in anticipation for the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome later in the day.

At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack” and the city’s police chief said the act was clearly intentional. But an assistant FBI agent in charge declared that it was “not a terrorist event.” The news conference ended before authorities could reconcile the two characterizations.

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said officials were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.

Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said police officers would work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl, indicating that the game would go on as scheduled.

“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick said. “It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could.”

Two police officers who were shot after the driver emerged from the truck are in stable condition, she said.

The New York Times has a photo and video report: Scenes From New Orleans After Attack on New Year’s Day.

Officials in New Orleans were assessing the damage in the city’s French Quarter on Wednesday morning after an attack left at least 10 people dead and at least 35 injured, including two police officers.

A man drove a pickup truck at high speed into the crowds on Bourbon Street around 3:15 a.m. before crashing and opening fire, according to police officials. The attacker died in a shootout with the police.

“He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” the New Orleans police superintendent, Anne Kirkpatrick, said.

The F.B.I. said it was investigating the attack as an act of terrorism, and officials urged the public to stay away from the area.

Security personnel investigate the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon Street. Wednesday, Jan. 1. 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Also from The New York Times: What We Know About the Attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

At least 10 people were killed and dozens more were hurt in the early hours of New Year’s Day after a man drove a pickup truck into crowds in the French Quarter of New Orleans and then opened fire. Officials called it an attack, and the F.B.I. said it was investigating it as a potential act of terrorism….

Here’s what we know so far about what happened.

The man sped a truck into crowds on Bourbon Street around 3:15 a.m. After crashing, he opened fire, officials said. At least 10 people were killed and about 35 were injured.

Investigators said they later found what appeared to be improvised explosive devices in the truck and were trying to determine whether the devices were viable. It is not clear if any such devices were detonated….

The carnage occurred in the area of the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets in the city’s historic French Quarter, one of its most crowded areas and the heart of its tourism industry.

Officials asked the public on Wednesday morning to stay away from a half-mile stretch of Bourbon Street as the F.B.I. investigated….

Officials have not yet released the man’s name. He crashed the truck and died after a shootout with police officers, according to the F.B.I.

Background from The New York Times: The French Quarter is New Orleans’s most famous tourist attraction.

The attack on New Year’s Day targeted New Orleans’ most recognizable tourist destination.

The French Quarter is the historic colonial heart of the city and the center of its tourism industry, one of New Orleans’s leading economic engines. The six-by-13 block area on the curving bank of the Mississippi River is known for its colorful buildings and ornate balconies. Vibrant festivals and parties along famed Bourbon Street, where the attack took place, attract revelers from across the United States and abroad.

“You’re talking about one of the most iconic cities, and one of the most recognizable streets in the world,” Oliver Thomas, a New Orleans city councilman, said on Wednesday after the attack.

“So when you think about it, this isn’t really a message and a shot at New Orleans. This is at America. It’s the world and the environment we live in right now.”

Mr. Thomas said that New Orleans often hosts more people per capita than some of the largest cities in the world and that it was crucial that the city not shut down.

The city’s annual Mardi Gras, with its marching bands and beads flung from floats and balconies, is perhaps the most popular and celebrated event on the calendar, but New Orleans hosts more than 135 festivals each year, according to city figures, and attracted more than 18 million visitors in 2018.

Hours before the attack, the annual Allstate New Year’s Eve Parade moved through the French Quarter, attracting huge crowds. The parade is a buildup to one of the city’s largest annual sporting events — the Sugar Bowl — which falls on Jan. 1 this year and has now been overshadowed by the violence.

The Washington Post has live updates: 10 killed in New Orleans as driver plows truck into crowd.

From local station WDSU in New Orleans: WATCH: Explosions heard in French Quarter after deadly terror attack.

Explosions were heard early Wednesday morning in the French Quarter after a terror attack on Bourbon Street left 10 dead and dozens injured….

“Woah, they just detonated something,” WDSU Reporter Fletcher Mackel says as explosions are heard. “There it is again, they just blew something else.”

This comes as agents responded to what was believed to be “suspicious devices” found in the area.

Emergency services attend the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

More detail from Harry Howard at New Orleans WLLL4: 10 Dead, 35 injured after driver targets Bourbon Street crowd.

The suspect’s gun was described as a “long gun”  and had a suppressive device attached.

In a statement, the FBI confirmed its lead role in the investigation. 

“This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others. The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”

After plowing through the crowd, the suspect crashed his vehicle and shot two responding officers. The officers fired back and struck the suspect.

An improvised explosive device was also discovered at the scene, prompting the FBI to take over the investigation.

“We are working on confirming if this is a viable device or not,” FBI Special Agent Alicia Duncan said.

Moreno said the suspect was able to drive down Bourbon Street because the bollards were down for repairs.

I’m going to post this as is. I made a mistake, and WordPress has changed the post to “block mode.” There isn’t a way to indent news articles, so I hope this makes sense. We will have some updates in the comment thread.

Take care everyone. Somehow, we will make it through 2025 together. I love you all.