New Orleans – Locals and tourists in New Orleans were warned that a temporary barrier was being installed to prevent cars from entering Bourbon Street, where a terrorist drove a truck through New Year's crowds early on the morning of January 1, killing 14 people. I'm wondering why it was installed instead. Raise it to allow vehicles to pass.
Temporary metal fencing was installed on Bourbon Street and other areas of the French Quarter in mid-November as the city worked to remove old bollards and replace them with stainless steel bollards. The work was expected to last until January.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told Fox News she directed the New Orleans Police Department to ask questions about the barricades, but said the department would “evaluate everything in the coming weeks in preparation for the Super Bowl.” Ta.
“Local law enforcement was the lead agency in the preparations for the Sugar Bowl,” Murrill said. “These questions should be directed to the New Orleans Police Department. I assure you that we will evaluate everything in the coming weeks in preparation for the Super Bowl.”
New Orleans police could not be reached for comment.
New Orleans drinker narrowly escapes speeding truck with 'tactic of choice among terrorists': expert
A black flag with white letters is crumpled on the ground behind the pickup truck that a man drove into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing and injuring multiple people early Wednesday morning, January 1, 2025. Ta. The FBI said it recovered an Islamic flag with white text on a black background from the vehicle. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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 Bourbon Street This included installing new bollards. tourist spot.
“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, identified by the FBI as an area of concern for the city to address. Following incidents in Nice, France, London, England, and the recent New York City Times Square incident, bollard It revealed how popular tourist destinations can be threatened by attackers with vehicles and weapons.
The report recommends that Bourbon Street be “closed to vehicular traffic at specified times, except for emergency vehicles, as one risk mitigation measure.”
New Orleans attack could lead to ISIS radicalizing other Americans, experts say
Bourbon Street reopens Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024, in New Orleans, Louisiana as authorities patrol Bourbon Street. A man plowed his car into a crowd of people celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street on Wednesday, killing multiple people and injuring dozens. (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
Safety recommendations for the area included street cameras, a central command center, better lighting and high-quality bollards, which the U.S. government also uses near official buildings.
“Closing the bollards will prevent uncontrolled vehicle access to Bourbon Street, provide an area for pedestrians to take refuge from heavy traffic onto Bourbon Street, and provide emergency responders access to Bourbon Street through the crossroads. “By allowing people to barricade themselves, more resources are freed up to prevent crime,” the report states.
New Orleans truck attack suspected of being inspired by Islamic State terrorist group
Bourbon Street reopens Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024, in New Orleans, Louisiana as authorities patrol Bourbon Street. A man plowed his car into a crowd of people celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street on Wednesday, killing multiple people and injuring dozens. (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
Bill Daly, a former FBI official and security and risk management advisor, told Fox News Digital that the “Achilles heel” of the January 1 tragedy was that the temporary measures taken on New Year's Eve did not provide the same level of protection as before. He said that it was because he was unable to provide such services. Previously intended, designed and envisioned in the 2017 report.
“Temporary barricades are widely used, for example, by the New York City Police Department in Times Square to close off all side streets leading into Times Square,” Daley said. “They actually put cement blocks in the middle of sidewalks and roads as temporary barricades, and sometimes they put vehicles in there. They use garbage trucks, dump trucks, all kinds of large vehicles, and in some cases police It's important that cars block the road, but it's also important that they block the sidewalk.
New Orleans attack: FBI says no other suspects involved, investigation continues
The barricade on Bourbon Street (right) was restored on January 2nd, the day after the attack, and the barricade on another street in the French Quarter (left) appears to have gone down on January 2nd. (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
Multiple business employees who live near the Bourbon Street entrance told Fox News Digital that officials are planning to close the French Quarter during Christmas as the city plans permanent fencing repairs and renovations. Temporary barriers were installed to block traffic at certain street entrances.
However, the barricade at the intersection of Canal Street and Bourbon Street was not upright on New Year's Eve, allowing vehicles to cross the flattened barricade and enter Bourbon Street from Canal Street. Video shows Jabbar driving his rented pickup truck off Canal Street, evading a police vehicle blockade at the Bourbon Street entrance before plowing into revelers.
Fox News has learned that since the Jan. 1 attack, there have been more barriers in New Orleans that could have prevented or limited the scope of the terrorist attack, but New Orleans Police Chief Ann Kirk Patrick said at a subsequent press conference that he was unaware the barrier existed.
New Orleans attack suspect's brother says attack is a sign of 'radicalization': Report
Tourists pass through a temporary fence at Orleans Avenue and Bourbon Street on Thursday, January 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
“Actually, we have them,” she said of the barriers. “I didn't know about them, but we had them and now we could put them out.”
The CEO of Meridian Rapid Defense Group confirmed to Fox News that the company sold 48 Archer fences to New Orleans in 2017. This is the same fencing the city installed on sidewalks around the French Quarter before reopening Bourbon Street Thursday after federal authorities finished assessing the crime scene. .
Pedestrians walk down Bourbon Street as it reopens on Thursday, January 2, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A man plowed his car into a crowd of people celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street on Wednesday, killing multiple people and injuring dozens. (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
Peter Whitford said the 700-pound L-shaped steel barrier was “the world's strongest mobile barrier” and was designed to stop a 5,500-pound truck traveling at 60 miles per hour. Ta.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Not only did they not know they had a barrier, they didn't even know how to explain it,” Whitford said of New Orleans officials explaining the barrier. . “Even now, in the photos I've seen, the wheels are still down and the fence isn't properly installed.”
The defense company is trying to contact city officials to explain how to install the barrier, which remains improperly installed.
