LEILA FADEL, HOST:
First, we get an update on an attack in New Orleans, where a pickup plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Investigators have learned a little more over the past 24 hours. So let's go to Drew Hawkins of the Gulf States Newsroom, who is in New Orleans. Welcome back, Drew.
DREW HAWKINS, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: How does this event look after a day since you last spoke with us here?
HAWKINS: Yeah, so at this point, investigators say that the driver crashed through police barricades. Officers opened fire. The driver fired back. Two officers were injured before the driver was shot and killed. The FBI has called it an act of terrorism by an American citizen, and we know that he had an ISIS flag sticker on his truck. Here's President Biden talking about it last night.
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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: The FBI also reported to me that mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that it was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill - desire to kill.
HAWKINS: Investigators say that they believe the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, may not have acted alone as well. Biden said law enforcement is looking for possible coconspirators or associations, and officials are urging people who might know anything to come forward, while at this point, Bourbon Street and most of the French Quarter remains off-limits. And also, yesterday's Sugar Bowl game between Notre Dame and Georgia was postponed until this afternoon.
INSKEEP: I'm just dwelling on the details you give us there - possible coconspirators, but we don't really know. The president says inspired by ISIS, which sounds more like an ideological connection, but of course, we don't know that. What are city officials saying about how the driver got past police, though?
HAWKINS: Yeah, so there were automatic bollards installed on Bourbon Street more than a decade ago. And so these are these barriers that go up and down automatically to block off the street.
INSKEEP: Right.
HAWKINS: But they haven't worked in quite some time. So instead, what New Orleans police did was they parked police cruisers at the intersection to prevent traffic from getting in. But the suspect simply drove around the police cruiser. He went up onto the sidewalk and then began speeding down the road and started running into people in the crowded streets. The city was actually in the process of getting those bollards fixed ahead of the big Super Bowl that's set to be held here, but that process obviously wasn't complete. And critics have asked why these bollards have taken so long to be repaired in an area that has, you know, such heavy tourist and foot traffic.
INSKEEP: That question has got to be just one part of what's affecting the mood in New Orleans right now.
HAWKINS: Yeah. Yeah, it's a somber mood. I think there's also some anger that this happened. Witnesses described a chaotic, tragic scene with people out celebrating New Year's Eve that were suddenly plunged into panic and devastation. Like I mentioned, there's also the Sugar Bowl. It's a really big deal. But many residents and visitors right now are still grappling with shock and grief as the city tries to recover. There's also frustration with the city of New Orleans, who some people feel just didn't do enough to keep people safe.
INSKEEP: Tell me a little bit about the victims.
HAWKINS: Yeah, we know that among the 15 people who were killed, one was Tiger Bech - he's described as a standout athlete from Lafayette, Louisiana - and Mississippi teenager Nikyra Dedeaux. Injuries span a wide range. We've learned about two 20-year-old women from Fort Myers, Florida, who were hurt and are currently hospitalized. But the thing right now is that officials say they're waiting to notify families before they can release the names of all the victims.
INSKEEP: OK. Drew Hawkins with Gulf States Newsroom in New Orleans, thanks so much for your insights.
HAWKINS: Thanks, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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