Many are still recovering from the terror attack that took place on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans on New Year’s Eve, as celebrations for 2025 were ongoing.
One of those who was present and still can’t believe what happened is John Bagley, a former Marine County firefighter who happened to be in the area around the time of the attack.
“It’s definitely bizarre,” Bagley said. “I mean, I’ve been to the French Quarter a few times before, and it’s never not a hub of activity.”
Bagley was staying at a hotel in the French Quarter, steps from Bourbon Street, where the attack happened. He said that well into the night and new year, sirens could be heard on a night that was already set to be noisy.
“There were just hundreds of thousands of people out having a good time. And then a couple of hours after midnight, everything changed,” he said.
When he heard the sirens, at first, he thought that firefighters were responding to a fire in the area, but was shocked when his hotel was evacuated and police were creating a perimeter.
He says the ensuing scene was one of chaos.
“A lot of very confused people because when the perimeter was established, people can’t get to their cars, they can’t get to work, they can’t get to the restaurants,” he said.
While tourists had filled the area for celebrations, Bagley said that a lot of those who were present were workers trying to head home.
Even though there are a lot of tourists, the vast majority of the people that were affected were the workers at the French Quarter,” Bagley said.
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The investigation into the attack that saw at least 10 people lose their lives is ongoing at this time. The FBI shared on Wednesday that it doesn’t believe the suspect acted alone while carrying out his attack.
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