Published on 02/01/2025 23:21
Reading time: 2min – video: 2min
After the car ramming attack which left at least 15 dead, including the assailant, in New Orleans on Wednesday January 1, questions are emerging. Very quickly, flaws appeared in the security system.
-Barely a few seconds to react and escape death. Faced with the vehicle traveling at full speed, all the revelers on Bourbon Street did not have time to get to safety. A little more than 24 hours after the attack, we noticed that there was indeed a removable barrier at the entrance to the street. Authorities confirmed that it was not working and needed to be replaced. In an image filmed just before the attack, we see the suspect easily bypassing the police car supposed to block the street. He gets on the sidewalk, then accelerates to run over passers-by. Which didn't surprise Josh Gusanders, who lives in the neighborhood: “With my family, every Mardi Gras parade, we tell ourselves that the security is really not satisfactory.”
Since Wednesday, January 1, America has discovered the faces of those who lost their lives in the attack. Most of them were in their twenties. Last night, the city usually among the most festive in the country suddenly seemed very calm. Some bars have still chosen to remain open.
And in the birthplace of jazz, musicians played as therapy. “That the city is so silent because of death is painful. So music helps calm you down”explains Chantz Powell, musician in New Orleans.
“While the area of the attack remains cordoned off, a major football match will take place in a few hours in New Orleans with tens of thousands of spectators. A first security test for the authorities, but also a moment of contemplation with a tribute planned in memory of the victims of the attack”indicates Franck Genauzeau, special correspondent on site.
Watch the full report in the video above.
