A news director of a local radio station tells the story that in the wee hours of this past Jan. 1 he was awakened at home by a phone call. When a news director gets an odd-hour phone call the reason is probably bad news. It was horrible.
Making the call more ominous was that it was not merely from the local police information but from the BBC in London. On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean reporters had already begun gathering information about a reported mass shooting on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
As most of us still slept, the BBC was already beaming the news about what appeared to be a terrorist incident across its empire. We would learn that 14 New Year’s Eve revelers were killed; several others were wounded.
In the hours to follow there would be hasty news conferences. As one an FBI official conceded that the attacker probably had not acted alone. That opened the horrifying possibility of accomplices loose on the streets. Even worse, the ISIS flag on his truck suggested a terrorist group
Throughout the day as locals went to their New Year’s events, many, out of habit, might wish others a “Happy New Year.” If fact, rather than happy, with 2025 only a few hours old the new year’s beginning was the most tragic in the city’s history.
LeBron Joseph, a news anchor and reporter for WGNO, Ch. 26 was one of the first journalists at the scene in the vicinity of where Bourbon Street intersects with Canal Street. He always carries a video device with him. By then the blinking lights of emergency vehicles had overcoming the night. The scene I would most remember from Joseph’s video was the procession of emergency trucks marked “Coroner.” I did know that the coroner had so many trucks for body removal.
According to NBC News, the driver, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen who was a resident of Texas crashed his truck into whatever was in his way on Bourbon Street at around 3:15 a.m. As police officers approached his wrecked vehicle, he opened fire, wounding two of the officers. A gunfight ensued as the other officers opened fire. Jabbar died on the spot.
We would learn the next day that rather than being a part of a terrorist’s group he was, as frequently described by crime investigators, a “lone wolf” who had drifted in from Texas in pursuit of an evil act.
Heroes of the night were the local police who prevented further shootings. He might have also planned to use an improvised explosive device found in his rented truck.
In normal times, New Orleans is one of the country’s happiest places to be on New Year’s Day. The Sugar Bowl is played that day filling the streets with various alumni revelers. There are fireworks along the riverfront the night before; and locals know that the start of the Carnival season is only six days away. Even the weather takes part providing temperatures that are usually cool and crisp while much of the continent is frozen.
What happened this past New Year’s Day touched off self-examination. The French Quarter is a safer place than it was a year ago, though barriers, bollards, National Guard troops and memorials to the fallen provide reminders of lone wolves and the cruciality of vigilance.
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To contact Errol, email elabordenola@gmail.com!
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS: Errol’s Laborde’s new book, “When Rex Met Zulu: And Other Chronicles of the New Orleans Experience,” (Pelican Publishing Company, 2024) is now available at local bookstores and websites.
Laborde’s other recent publications: “New Orleans: The First 300 Years” and “Mardi Gras: Chronicles of the New Orleans Carnival” (Pelican Publishing Company, 2017 and 2013), are available at the same locations.
WATCH INFORMED SOURCES, FRIDAYS AT 7 P.M., REPEATED AT 9:30 A.M. Sundays. WYES-TV, CH. 12.
