For decades, it was well-known that Bourbon Street and the French Quarter were prime targets for terrorist attacks. It was also known for years that the security measures in place for these areas were inadequate to prevent such an attack.
Then, New Year's morning, a terrorist drove a truck down Bourbon Street, claiming the lives of 14 people.
Yesterday we crossed the one-week threshold since the terror attack on Bourbon Street.
Uncovering the roots of such a horrifying event takes time, especially given that an investigation of this kind is multi-pronged.
To start, the FBI had to find details about the attacker and their motives. There was the necessary care and commemoration of the victims, survivors, and their families. Now, and what's to come, is a long period of self-examination to determine if there was negligence in mitigating the attack, and what security measures are needed moving forward.
The further out one gets from an attack like that of New Year’s Eve, the wider the perspective. On the day of the attack, there were more questions than answers—and to a point, that’s still true. However, now, we have a clearer picture of how this attack happened, and what should’ve been done to minimize the impact.
If you’ve been following along, you’ve heard the conversations about bollards, barriers, security gaps, and forthcoming investigations. Since the initial media buzz, we’ve been able to harness a bit more clarity on the subject and leaders have begun charting a path forward.
Tommy Tucker interviewed a handful of officials and experts over the past few days, many of whom were present on WWL's airwaves the day of the attack. They served as vital resources then, and still do. That said, as the facts change and more comes to light, their opinions and stances about how the city should respond evolve.
One of my guests on the day of the attack was former NOPD Police Chief Ronal Serpas, who spoke on the need to perform target hardening on a dense tourist location like the French Quarter.
In our interview on Tuesday, he expanded on his posistion.
“There is so much uniqueness about being one of the oldest walking cities in the country,” says Serpas. “It has a daily walking promenade—meaning no car traffic on Royal Street during the day and Bourbon Street at night. It's been like that for the 45 years that I'm aware of."
Serpas stated that securing a city is always a balancing act between safety and efficiency, something that’s exceedingly difficult in the FQ and Bourbon. However, he believes that the bollards, had they been fully operational, likely would have reduced the effectiveness of the vehicle attack.
“There were four bollards for each section of Bourbon Street on either side,” said Serpas. “They would be enough to significantly slow down the attack or leave people time to get out of the way. And they’re easy to move.”
Serpas also underscored the importance of wedge barriers, stating, “The cross streets are always an issue, because we have traffic allowed to go up to Bourbon, wait for clearance in pedestrian traffic, then cross. There’s also the next level for when it’s too crowded to stop cross-street traffic. When you decide to stop cross-street traffic, the wedges can be elevated and dropped for emergency services. The overarching issue is, above all, the ability of emergency services to get in there—particularly fire and EMS.”
There’s also discussion about if a specific wing of government deserves the lion's share of the blame. Serpas explains that such a process is tricky given implementing security equipment is a layered process. Some look to blame Chief Kirkpatrick, others Mayor Cantrell and the city of New Orleans.
When asked specifically about Chief Kirkpatrick's role in these events, who occupies the role he once served, Serpas said, “A police chief can't buy a piece of equipment for the police department unless it goes through the mayor. The mayor gets it approved by the council. But they certainly can't act like they didn't know anything about it. In this case, I think the superintendent is going to need some time to answer all the questions as effectively and efficiently as possible and to make sure that if there are any errors, to just be honest about it. The public appreciates when leaders are willing to say, ‘You know what, I got that wrong. Let me let me correct it. Let me get the record right.’”
Looking to the future, New Orleans leaders are rushing to secure the city for Mardi Gras. However, many of those closest to the event are optimistic about how secure it’ll be, in large part because of the terrorist attack.
For one, President Biden already approved Mayor Cantrell’s requirements to grant SEAR-1 security designation for Mardi Gras. This gives the city the ability to tap into extra federal resources to secure parade routes and heavily trafficked areas.
Arthur Hardy, founder of the Mardi Gras Guide, made a bold but backed claim during our interview on Wednesday he expressed, "I predict this will be the safest one ever, given there will be so much attention put over us."
Hardy believes security will be tighter than ever, but also states parade-goers must do their part to alert security officials to suspicious behavior. He said, "If you see something, say something. Like if you see a guy with a mask carrying a bag. The opportunities for bad guys to do bad things are enormous. We just have to be as vigilant and diligent as we can and go on."
Looking even further down the road is potential legislation to secure areas like Bourbon Street.
Tommy Tucker spoke to Louisiana State Representative Alonzo Knox who discussed what strategies are being considered right now to prioritize security against vehicular attacks. Knox said, "Nothing is off the table. Maybe not the entire Quarter, but Bourbon St. could become a pedestrian mall."