Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans has denounced the “horrific attack” that occurred in his city in Louisiana, and said “our prayers go out” to the victims, while praising the responses of law enforcement and emergency staff "in the face of such evil".
A suspect named Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a pick-up truck around barriers and ploughed through a crowd of people celebrating the New Year early on the morning of 1 January 2025. The attack occurred around 3.15 a.m. at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets in the city's French Quarter, an area popular with tourists.
It is <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn4x88455qpt"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reported</mark></a> that 15 people were killed and at least 35 injured, and that police found an ISIS flag in the attacker’s vehicle.
“Our prayers go out to those killed and injured in this morning’s horrific attack on Bourbon Street,” the archbishop said in a statement, <a href="https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2025/01/archbishop-of-new-orleans-prays-for-victims-of-terrorist-attack-in-louisiana"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> <em>Crux</em>.
“This violent act is a sign of utter disrespect for human life. I join with others in the <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/restoring-the-catholic-grand-dame-of-new-orleans/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans</mark></a> in offering prayerful support to the victims’ families. I give thanks for the heroic duty of hundreds of law enforcement and medical personnel in the face of such evil.”
Jabbar, a US army veteran, was killed in a police shootout after the attack. Two police officers were injured in the exchange.
“He was trying to run over as many people as he could. He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and damage that he did,” the New Orleans police chief, Anne Kirkpatrick, told journalists.
The FBI says Jabbar was probably not “solely responsible” for the attack. Investigators have reviewed video showing three men and a woman attempting to place a suspected improvised explosive device in connection with the attack.
President Joe Biden says he has been “continually briefed” since the attack by federal law enforcement leadership and his homeland security team, as well as by the Mayor of New Orleans, “regarding the horrific incident that occurred there overnight”.
“The FBI is taking the lead in the investigation and is investigating this incident as an act of terrorism,” the president said.
“I am grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury. I have directed my team to ensure every resource is available as federal, state and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind."
The president added that he will continue to receive updates about the attack, and will have more to say as further information comes out.
“In the meantime, my heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday. There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities,” Biden said.
University of Notre Dame president Father Robert Dowd – whose college football team was scheduled to play in New Orleans on 1 January – said the members of the university would participate in a Mass for the victims, after announcing the game would be delayed due to the terrorist attack.<br><br>The carnage in New Orleans follows a similarly styled attack that occurred at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on 20 December 2024, when an SUV was driven into and through the gathered crowds, resulting in the deaths of five people and injuries to hundreds of others.
<em>Photo: Members of the National Guard monitor a blocked-off section of the French Quarter after the terrorist attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 1 January 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images.)</em>
