Dozens of victims of the New Year's Day terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans are suing the city and police department.
Texas terrorist Shamsuddin Jabbar plowed his Ford 150 into a New Year's crowd on a famous New Orleans street around 3 a.m. on January 1, killing 14 civilians and injuring dozens. Ta. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a gunfight with police. .
One of the lawsuits, filed Thursday by Morris Burt LLC on behalf of seven victims, targets the city of New Orleans and Hard Rock construction and engineering company Mott MacDonald LLC, arguing that they could have prevented the tragedy. The lawsuit alleges that the company failed to provide the necessary safety measures.
“After conducting an extensive investigation, we believe that the three defendants named in the lawsuit could and should have taken steps to prevent this tragedy,” Morris Burt said in a statement. “I believe that,” he said. “Our hope is that through this lawsuit we can help prevent future tragedies.”
Nathan Williams, a University of New Orleans student, lights a candle at the Bourbon Street memorial to the victims of the New Year's Day truck attack in New Orleans on January 3, 2025. (AP)
The lawsuit states that the defendants “have had many years of opportunity to resolve this known issue.”[c]The contractor did not fulfill his contractual obligations and did not perform the work in the specified order and manner. ”
“One of the scenarios presented by Mott MacDonald eight months before this tragedy was that a Ford F-150 truck would specifically make a right turn from Canal Street onto Bourbon Street, which could have been predicted before December 31st. It seemed possible, and it was a surprisingly similar threat.”
“Had Mott MacDonald competently provided technical services to the City to address known threats, Mr. Jabbar's access to Bourbon Street would have been completely prevented,” the complaint concludes.
A second lawsuit will be filed against the city of New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department on behalf of at least 20 victims.
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies are on duty on Bourbon Street after a terrorist drove his car into a crowd in New Orleans early on New Year's Day, killing 14 people. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
Maples Connick LLC, a New Orleans law firm, has launched a civil investigation into the attack and is based in Chicago, which has represented victims in several recent mass casualty incidents and attacks. It is affiliated with the law firm Romanucci & Blandin.
“Residents and visitors trust New Orleans officials to keep them safe, and the city ultimately recognizes Bourbon Street's vulnerability to the predictable and avoidable events that occurred on January 1st. “It's very worrying that we have preliminary information that the leaders were clearly aware of,” Romanucci said. & Blandin Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci said in a statement:
“This breach of public trust is alarming and we are committed to holding people accountable in this matter.”
said Aaron Maples, partner at Maples Connick.[t]We must take responsibility for leaving these people exposed to such harm and trauma. ”
Investigators work after a terrorist drives a vehicle into a crowd at Canal Street and Bourbon Street in New Orleans on January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The city of New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department do not comment on pending litigation.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is conducting her own investigation into security failures that may have led to the Bourbon Street attack, and the investigation is still in the “very early stages,” according to Fox News. told Digital.
“These are regular events for the city,” Murrill said, noting New Year's Eve, the Sugar Bowl, Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl are all part of the city's recent event plans. “So I'm trying to understand what the pressures are and who the different players are so that we can make sure we have a functional and adequate infrastructure and find a way to bring it up to the threat level. I want to face this city.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill addresses the media in New Orleans on January 1, 2025. (Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill)
Murrill described New Orleans as a “fun city with thousands of people taking to the streets for parades and other festivities and always lots of activity.”
“There are many aspects to this process that influence how it ultimately results in lasting change.”
“I think the concept of the city itself needs to grow,” Murrill said.
According to the city's website, work began on New Year's Eve to replace the bollards on Bourbon Street, which began on Nov. 19.
A New Orleans police vehicle blocks the entrance to Bourbon Street, near the scene where people were killed in an attack by a man driving a truck during New Year's celebrations in New Orleans, January 2, 2025. (Reuters/Octavio Jones)
While the replacement work is underway, authorities have installed a temporary barrier at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street, presumably to prevent suspicious vehicles from driving through the busy tourist area. However, local business owners and employees who previously spoke with FOX News Digital said the temporary barrier was not erected, but was erected, allowing vehicular access during the holiday.
As part of a $2.3 billion infrastructure project that began in 2017, New Orleans' official recommendations for security measures in the French Quarter include: This included installing new bollards on Bourbon Street. area.
Around that time, the city began planning modern safety measures, including bollards to block vehicles from entering the French Quarter's downtown area.
Matthias Hauswirth of New Orleans prays on the street near where a terrorist drove his car into a crowd at Canal Street and Bourbon Street in New Orleans on January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
“The French Quarter is often a high-density area for pedestrians and is a potential area for mass casualty incidents.” 2017 Report Status. “This area is also a terrorist risk and target area that the FBI has identified as a concern for the city to address.
“The attacks in Nice, France, London, England, and the recent incident in New York City's Times Square, where bollards were credited with saving lives, show how popular tourist destinations can be threatened by attackers with vehicles and weapons. It became clear.”
Another 2019 confidential report obtained by Fox News from the security consulting firm Interfor International warned that Bourbon Street was the “highest-profile terrorist attack target” in New Orleans. A 60-page safety assessment commissioned by the French Quarter Management District states bluntly: “Bourbon Street's current bollard system does not appear to be working.”
Multiple security experts told FOX News' Garrett Tenney that current bollard systems, if they are installed at all, have a low crash rating and the F-bollard's large size and speed. , said that it would not have been powerful enough to stop Jabbar's attack. We have reached 150 trucks.
Tourists pass through a temporary fence at Orleans Avenue and Bourbon Street on January 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Interfor International said in a 2019 report that it “strongly recommends immediate modification/improvement of bollard mobilization.”
Sources told Fox News Interfour International that even though there is almost always some follow-up after such reports are filed, There was no response from the city.
Murrill told Fox News Digital that he is aware of the 2019 report and will obtain a copy as part of his review.
Samantha Petrie places flowers at the memorial at Canal Street and Bourbon Street in New Orleans on January 2, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
He said he had questions about multiple public sectors that may have been involved in planning New Year's Eve security in the French Quarter.
“What role did they play? We don't know the answers to all these questions yet. I think… there's been a lot of reporting,” she said. “There's a lot of different information being collected. But at the state level, we need to bring it all together and look at this from a safety management, disaster planning perspective that integrates with existing state, local and federal management structures. “”
The FBI has released photos of surveillance footage from early January 1, 2025, showing Shamsuddin Jabbar driving his truck on Bourbon Street in New Orleans an hour before the incident. (FBI via AP)
The FBI continues to investigate the attack and said Jabbar was motivated by ISIS extremism.
Federal authorities announced last week that Jabbar had previously visited New Orleans twice, once on October 30, 2024, and once on November 10, 2024. The attackers had also visited Cairo, Egypt, and Toronto, Canada, before the attack. said the FBI.
Jabbar is believed to have acted alone, but authorities are continuing to investigate whether he had accomplices.
