New Orleans mourns truck attack victims with tears and dance
Fourteen people were killed in the incident on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day.
New Orleans has mourned, wept and danced at a vigil along the famous thoroughfare where 14 people were killed when a truck was driven into revellers celebrating the new year.
A makeshift memorial has been set up on Bourbon Street, with crosses and photos of the victims surrounded by candles, flowers and teddy bears.
The relatives of those killed held each other, some crying, at the vigil on Saturday night, but as a brass band began playing, the sorrow transformed into a celebration of life as the crowd snapped fingers, swayed and followed the music down the street.
The coroner’s office has listed the cause of death for all 14 victims as “blunt force injuries”. About 30 other people were injured in the attack early on Wednesday by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a former US Army soldier who proclaimed his support for the Islamic State militant group in online videos posted hours before he struck.
Police fatally shot Jabbar, 42, during a firefight at the scene of the deadly crash on Bourbon Street, famous worldwide for its festive vibes in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter.
Cathy Tenedorio, who lost her 25-year-old son Matthew, said she was moved by the flood of condolences and kindness at Saturday’s vigil.
“This is the most overwhelming response of love, an outpouring of love,” she said. “I’m floating through it all.”
New Orleans native Autrele Felix, 28, left a handwritten card beside a memorial for his friend Nicole Perez, a single mother who was killed.
“It means a lot, to see that our city comes together when there’s a real tragedy,” he said. “We all become one.”
Others who crowded around the brass band said the best way to honour the victims was with a party.
“Because that’s what they were down here to do, they were having a good time,” life-long New Orleans resident Kari Mitten said.
Federal authorities searching Jabbar’s Houston home found a workbench in the garage and hazardous materials believed to have been used to make explosive devices, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the search.
He had reserved the vehicle used in the attack more than six weeks earlier, suggesting he may have been plotting the attack at least since then.
Authorities found crude bombs that had been planted in the neighbourhood in an apparent attempt to cause more carnage. Two improvised explosive devices were rendered safe at the scene, while other devices were determined to be non-functional, officials said.
Investigators searching Jabbar’s hired truck found a transmitter intended to trigger the two bombs, the FBI said on Friday, adding that there were bomb-making materials at the New Orleans home Jabbar rented prior to the attack. Jabbar tried to burn down the house by setting a small fire in a hallway.
Authorities are still investigating Jabbar’s motives and how he carried out the attack. They say he exited the crashed truck wearing a ballistic vest and helmet and fired at police, wounding at least two officers before he was fatally shot by officers returning fire.
Police have used multiple vehicles and barricades to block traffic at Bourbon and Canal streets since the attack, and other law enforcement agencies have helped city officers provide extra security.
The first parade of the Carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras is scheduled to take place Monday. New Orleans is also due to host the Super Bowl on February 9.
In a previous effort to protect the French Quarter, the city installed steel bollards to restrict vehicle access to Bourbon Street. The posts retracted to allow deliveries to bars and restaurants. They stopped working reliably after being gummed up by Mardi Gras beads, beer and other detritus.
When New Year’s Eve arrived, the bollards were gone. They will be replaced ahead of the Super Bowl, officials said.
The New Orleans coroner’s office has identified 13 of the 14 victims, with the youngest listed as 18 and the oldest 63. Most of the victims were in their 20s.
One was a British citizen, 31-year-old Edward Pettifer of west London.
British media has reported Mr Pettifer was the stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who was the nanny for the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex between 1993 and 1999.
William has said he was “shocked and saddened” by the “tragic” death of Mr Pettifer.
The Bourbon Street attack was the deadliest IS-inspired assault on US soil in years, laying bare what federal officials have warned is a resurgent international terrorism threat.
