NEW ORLEANS (AP) — National Guard members are pouring into New Orleans to help with security measures ahead of New Year’s festivities, as city officials continue to seek permanent security solutions nearly a year after a Bourbon Street truck attack killed 14 people.
The incident in the early hours of January 1 when a man drove around a police cordon exposed security gaps around a famous street dotted with rowdy bars, brass bands playing on cobblestone corners and a steady stream of cocktail-toting partygoers.
While Louisiana officials say the tourist attraction is safe because they have taken extra steps to combat potential threats ahead of the anniversary of the attack, families of the deceased say not enough is being done to ensure a similar tragedy doesn’t happen again.
looking for answers
The attack occurred when Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a pickup truck into a crowd celebrating New Year’s Day along Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more. Police shot and killed U.S. citizen and military veteran Abdul-Jabbar, who had professed support for the Islamic State militant group on social media.
After the attack, city officials, state agencies and a law firm representing the victims’ families began investigating whether the attack could have been prevented. The investigation focused on the street’s system of steel bollards, designed to prevent cars from entering the thoroughfare. The bollards were being replaced at the time.
The victims included Nikyra Dedeaux, an 18-year-old college-going girl who was on Bourbon Street with friends. Her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that while many will welcome fireworks and joy in 2026, she will be sad. She has been haunted by her daughter’s final moments, which were captured in graphic videos circulating on social media.
“I’m a parent who has to wake up, log into my Facebook account and see my daughter’s last days – my daughter’s last. I didn’t get to see her on Bourbon the night it happened. I saw her on video,” she told The Associated Press.
“I didn’t see safety,” Dedo said. “I see my daughter might still be here.”
Propose a permanent solution
Questions still surround the street’s barricade system, a patchwork of bollards, carefully parked police cars and 32 large steel barriers that police push into place each night to create pedestrian zones.
“They’re not meant to be used,” New Orleans’ 8th Precinct Police Chief Samuel Palumbo said of guardrails that can only withstand low-speed collisions. He stressed to the New Orleans Governmental Affairs Council this month that the system was “a temporary solution to a permanent problem.”
“We need to learn from what happened,” the law firm Morris Butt, which represents the victims and their families, told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s a bit ridiculous…a year after the tragedy, nothing has been done to address the situation.”
Palumbo urged the city to install permanent safety gates that can withstand collisions of up to 50 mph (80 kph). The council chose to delay the vote until incoming Mayor Helena Moreno takes office in January.
A consulting firm hired by the city to conduct a safety assessment came up with another suggestion: Make Bourbon Street pedestrianized.
While much of the street was restricted to pedestrian traffic at night, the advice, which was supported by the victims’ families, was largely ignored after French Quarter residents and business owners expressed concerns about access to their homes and businesses.
Enhanced security for upcoming celebrations
As the city prepares to party around the clock, President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of 350 National Guard members, who will arrive on Tuesday to provide heightened security in the French Quarter.
The troops will be stationed during Mardi Gras, when visitors descend on the Big Easy for costumed festivities and parades that wind through city streets before concluding with Mardi Gras in mid-February.
Both Republicans and Democrats support additional resources. Mayor-elect Moreno said she appreciated the troops’ presence, which increases “the visibility of security assets during major events.”
Longtime French Quarter worker Miguel Thornton said he was happy to see armed forces a year after the attacks.
“A lot of service industry professionals here have been affected — they saw the carnage, they had to step over bodies — so people have definitely changed,” Thornton said. “As far as the National Guard goes, they’ve been here before. Honestly, we welcome them.”
Remember 2025
There’s a famous Cajun French phrase in Louisiana: “Laissez les bon temps rouler,” or “let the good times roll.” In New Orleans, a city that relies heavily on tourism, the show is always on in the Entertainment District — even in the face of tragedy.
After the Bourbon Street attack, the strip was closed while emergency crews treated the injured, bodies were removed and blood was cleaned from the streets. The streets were reopened the next day before the coroner could identify all the victims. Within months, handwritten eulogies at the scene of the attack were obliterated.
As the anniversary approaches, tourists are once again flocking to Bourbon Street to celebrate the New Year. This time, hundreds of handmade flags hung above them to commemorate the victims.
Buck Harley, who runs a Bourbon Street cigar shop, said he has to explain the memorial to his customers.
“As a society, we seem to have forgotten. I don’t think it’s because of a lack of empathy, but because there’s another big story that has taken its place,” Harley said. “I have to tell visitors what those flags are there for, because it’s been forgotten.”