The City of New Orleans spent $40 million on a public safety plan in 2017, including retractable bollards placed on Bourbon Street that were designed specifically to prevent terrorists from using their vehicles to strike pedestrians.
Seven years later, the New Orleans Department of Public Works announced in November that the bollards would be removed and replaced over a four-month project that was originally estimated to conclude in February 2025.
This seems to explain why the bollards were not in place on the early morning hours of January 1, 2025, when authorities say an armed man drove a white Ford truck into a crowd, ultimately killing 10 and injuring 30 before he was killed in a shootout with police. The bollards are typically raised to protect pedestrians each day from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m., according to The New Orleans Advocate.
According to the New Orleans city website, a private company was contracted “to remove and replace the current bollard system,” with construction beginning in November 2024.
The website added that the replacement bollards were selected to eliminate tripping hazards, increase security to pedestrians through improved coverage, and make it easier for police to raise and lower the bollards.
The Tennessee Star contacted the New Orleans Police Department to confirm the bollards located at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street, where the January 1 terrorist attack took place, and to determine whether temporary barriers were in place for the city’s New Year’s Eve celebration.
The Star did not receive an immediate response, but a reported eyewitness to the attack told CNN that the city did not have barricades in place, according to a clip posted to the social media platform X.
Eyewitness says the barricades were NOT up in New Orleans last night.
He says if the barricades were up last night the driver wouldn’t have been able to ki*l that many people.
Back in 2017, a drunk driver plowed through a Mardi Gras crowd injuring two dozen people.
Normally… pic.twitter.com/qFGiUAj2VM
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) January 1, 2025
While an FBI spokesperson initially stated the mayhem was not a terrorist attack, the agency quickly issued a statement confirming it is “being investigated as an act of terrorism.” Local police and city leaders have similarly called the incident a terrorist attack.
At press time, The Advocate reported the suspect was identified by a law enforcement source as Shamsud Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old who appears to have ties to Texas.
The outlet also reported that Jabbar had an ISIS flag in the vehicle as he drove through pedestrians and engaged in a gunfight with police.
It was additionally reported that the truck used in the attack was spotted in Texas at the southern border just two days ago.
President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement after the attack, pledging that his incoming administration “will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil.”
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Moments after Bourbon Street NOLA NYE truck attack” by ICECASTLES / X.
