New Orleans mourns as Bourbon Street reopens after truck-ramming attack

Crowds have returned to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, as the city recovers after a deadly New Year’s Day attack that left 14 victims dead and 35 more injured.

On Friday, visitors paid their respects at a pavement memorial on Bourbon Street, close to where a suspect drove his rented pick-up truck into a late-night crowd of revellers.

Officials said the driver, 42-year-old United States military veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was inspired by the armed group ISIL (ISIS). Jabbar was fatally shot in a firefight with police after crashing his truck.

A law enforcement bulletin published on Friday warned that federal agencies “are concerned about possible copycat or retaliatory attacks” in the aftermath of the car-ramming, which is being treated as an act of terrorism.

Several victims of the attack have since been identified in US media. They include Kareem Badawi, a freshman from the University of Alabama; Nikyra Dedeaux, an aspiring nurse; Reggie Hunter, a father of two; and Nicole Perez, a single mom to a four-year-old son.

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By early Thursday morning, authorities had cleared the crime scene and removed the victims’ bodies. Mayor LaToya Cantrell said street cleaning started at 2am that same day and ended six hours later.

Bourbon Street reopened for business that afternoon. One of the main pedestrian thoroughfares in the historic French Quarter, Bourbon Street is renowned for its music, open-air drinking and vibrant atmosphere.

Street performers, tourists and traditional “second-line” brass bands had returned to the street by Friday, in an effort to resume normalcy.

Trombone player and lifelong New Orleans resident Jonas Green said it was important for his band to perform after the violence.

“I know with this music, it heals. It transforms the feelings that we’re going through into something better,” Green said. “Got to keep on going.”

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry also called for the city to show its resiliency in the wake of the bloodshed and heartbreak.

“We care about each one of the lives that were lost in this city,” Landry said on Thursday. “But it would be a tragedy if we let their losses be snuffed out because of fear. This city will be back, will be open to family and friends and loved ones who want some time to relax from the pressures of life.”