A week after Spain's floods, families hope that the missing are alive with 89 unaccounted for

SEDAVI, Spain (AP) — Francisco Murgui went out to try to salvage his motorbike when the water started to rise.

He never came back.

One week after catastrophic flooding devastated eastern Spain, María Murgui still holds out hope that her missing father is alive.

“He was like many people in town who went out to get their car or motorbike to safety,” the 27-year-old told The Associated Press. “The flash flood caught him outside, and he had to cling to a tree in order to escape drowning. He called us to tell us he was fine, that we shouldn’t worry.”

But when María set out into the streets of Sedaví to try to rescue him from the water washing away everything in its path, he was nowhere to be found.

“He held up until 1 in the morning,” she said. “By 2, I went outside with a neighbor and a rope to try to locate him. But we couldn’t find him. And since then, we haven’t heard anything about him.”

Spanish authorities issued their first tally of the missing on Tuesday when a Valencia court said that 89 people are confirmed to be unaccounted for.

The number only corresponds to the eastern Valencia region, where 211 of the 217 confirmed deaths took place when entire communities were swamped by tsunami-like floods on Oct. 29-30. Most people were caught off guard by the deluge. Regional authorities have been heavily criticized for having issued alerts to mobile phones some two hours after the disaster had started.

The Superior Court of Valencia said that the figure was based on those cases whereby families had provided information and biological samples of their unlocated loved ones. It added that there could easily be more missing people whose families have not officially reported to authorities.

The court said that 133 of the dead had been identified using fingerprints or DNA samples. Another 62 bodies remained unidentified.

Spanish state broadcaster RTVE has shown a steady stream of appeals by people searching for family members.

María Murgui herself has posted a missing person’s message on social media with a photo of her father, a 57-year-old retiree.

“This is like riding a rollercoaster. Sometimes I feel very bad and sometimes I feel better. I try to stay positive,” she said. “This truly is madness. We don’t know what else to do. Neither does anybody else in town.”

Meanwhile, the gargantuan recovery efforts in Sedaví and dozens of other communities slowly moved forward.

The central government on Tuesday approved a 10.6-billion-euro ($11.6-billion) relief package for 78 communities where at least one person has died from the floods. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez compared it to the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The package includes direct payments of 20,000 euros to 60,000 euros ($21,800-65,000) to owners of damaged homes, and financial aid for businesses and municipal governments.

“We have a lot of work left to do, and we know it,” Sánchez said.

Sánchez said he will ask the European Union to help pay for the relief, saying “it is time for the European Union to help.”

The floods have left behind post-apocalyptic scenes.

In town after town, streets are still covered with thick brown mud and mounds of ruined belongings, clumps of rotting vegetation and wrecked vehicles. A stench arises from the muck.

In many places, people still face shortages of basic goods, and lines form at impromptu emergency kitchens and stands handing out food. Water is running again but authorities say it is not fit for drinking.

The ground floors of thousands of homes have been ruined. It is feared that inside some of the vehicles that were washed away or trapped in underground garages there could be bodies waiting to be recovered.

Thousands of soldiers are working with firefighters and police reinforcements in the immense emergency response. Officers and troops are searching in destroyed homes, and in the countless cars strewn across highways and streets or lodged in the mud in canals and gorges.

Authorities are worried about other health problems in the aftermath of the deadliest natural disaster in Spain's recent history. They have urged people to get tetanus shots, to treat any wounds to prevent infections and to clean the mud from their skin. Many people wear face masks.

Thousands of volunteers are helping out, but frustration over the crisis management boiled over on Sunday when a crowd in hard-hit Paiporta hurled mud and other objects at Spain’s royals, Sánchez and regional officials. It was their first visit to the epicenter of the flood damage.

Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.

As the search for bodies continues, a Civil Guard looks though binoculars as a drone flies nearby at the mouth of the Poyo ravine in the La Albufera natural lake near Puerto de Catarroja, Valencia on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

A steering wheels lies on a bed of bamboo by the port of Catarroja on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Sister Kelly walks after working as volunteer cleaning houses affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman walks through the street in an area affected by floods in Sedavi, Spain, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People clean a house of mud in an area affected by floods in Sedavi, Spain, on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

A drone operated by the Spanish Parachute Squadron (EZAPAC) flies over the area in the search for bodies after floods in Barranco del Poyo on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Soldiers from the Spanish Parachute Squadron (EZAPAC) work in their search for bodies after floods in Barranco del Poyo on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Residents wait for public transportation in an area, affected by floods, in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People walk through a street with piled furniture and rubbish on the sides in an area, affected by floods, in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A crucifix hangs near the water level marker in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A painting hangs near the water level marker in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Wet clothes hangs on a window near the water level marker in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A person walks through a street with piled furniture and rubbish on the sides, in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A person walks through a street with piled furniture and rubbish on the sides in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The FBI now says the New Orleans truck attacker acted alone in an “act of terrorism” when he drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers early Wednesday, killing 14 people. The driver had posted videos on social media hours before the carnage saying he was inspired by the Islamic State group and expressing a desire to kill, President Joe Biden said.

The FBI identified the driver as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar.

Officials have not yet released the names of the people killed in the attack, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories. About 30 people were injured.

Here is the latest:

The FBI has released photos of surveillance footage that the agency says shows Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove a truck down Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens of others.

In the surveillance footage, Jabbar is dressed in a long light brown coat, a button-down shirt, blue jeans, and what appears to be brown dress shoes. He is wearing glasses.

The footage captures Jabbar walking down Dauphine Street, a block away from Bourbon Street, shortly after 2 a.m.

Biden’s days in office are numbered, with the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20 approaching fast.

Biden is expected to eulogize former President Jimmy Carter next week before he travels to Rome for several days to meet with Pope Francis and Italian government officials.

Asked at the White House on Thursday if he planned on visiting New Orleans, Biden said: “I’m going to try.”

Along the same block of Bourbon Street where the truck rampaged, a brass band plays to a large crowd. Across the street, a bouquet of white flowers rests on the brick sidewalk.

“Rest in peace, y’all,” one of the drummers shouts after the band finishes a song.

Trombone player and lifelong New Orleans resident Jonas Green, 22, said it was important for his band to be out on Bourbon Street the day after the attack.

“I know with this music, it heals, it transforms the feelings that we’re going through into something better,” Green said. “Gotta keep on going.”

While the historic street has reopened to the public, a group of heavily armed Homeland Security troops still walked in the area alongside tourists.

As Bourbon Street reopened to the public Thursday afternoon, people strolled past temporary yellow bollards placed in the street.

In addition to tourists, locals, reporters, local law enforcement and heavily armed Homeland Security officers walked along the typically raucous stretch of street.

At a morning news conference, officials had promised additional resources and safety details as thousands of people attended the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome, about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away from where Wednesday morning’s attack occurred.

Chris Pousson, of Beaumont, Texas, said he became friends with Shamsud-Din Jabbar in middle school and recalled him as quiet and reserved.

“This is a complete shock,” Pousson said. “Everyone I spoke with, all of our classmates, we’re all just in disbelief really.”

He said that after high school, they reconnected on Facebook around 2008 or 2009 and would message back and forth until around 2018 or 2019.

“He was always like glory to God and all that stuff, praise to the highest,” Pousson, 42, said. “He was always promoting his faith in a positive manner. It was never anything negative.”

Pousson, who is retired after serving 16 years in the Air Force, where he worked in anti-terrorism, said,

“I never saw this coming.”

“If any red flags would have popped off, I would have caught them and I would have contacted the proper authorities,” he said. “But he didn’t give anything to me that would have suggested that he is capable of doing what happened.”

“It can’t keep it down. It really can’t, and we’re seeing that today. The Sugar Bowl is back on,” President Joe Biden said at an unrelated White House event. He noted that Bourbon Street had reopened with reinforced security the day after the attack.

“The people of New Orleans are sending an unmistakable message. They will not let this attack or the attacker’s deluded ideology overcome us,” Biden said.

The president spoke about the two incidents at an unrelated White House event on Thursday.

He says he ordered accelerated investigations “so we have answers to our unanswered questions.” He said he also has ordered that every single federal resource be provided “to get the job done.”

The FBI earlier Thursday said there is no “definitive link,” as of now, between the events in New Orleans and Las Vegas.

Ohio residents Jeffrey and Briana Tolle, both in their fifties, strolled down Bourbon Street for their very first time shortly after it reopened, with Mardi Gras beads around their necks and beverages in hand.

They had spent the morning enjoying beignets and remained determined to enjoy their trip.

“We’re like, well we’re going, we’re not stopping,” Jeffrey Tolle said. “They ain’t gonna kill our good time.”

Ticketed fans in Georgia and Notre Dame gear packed a plaza adjacent to the Superdome and enjoyed music under clear skies — and the watch of snipers on rooftops — before filtering into the stadium for Thursday’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl.

“It was a lot of fun. It felt safe,“ said Shannon Horsey, a Georgia fan in her 40s who lives Austin, Texas.

”Coming in they searched by bag thoroughly. So I felt like, ‘OK, they’re really paying attention.’”

Joe Horsey, a Georgia graduate, found the pre-game crowd larger than he expected, but the “energy lower than a normal football game.”

Meanwhile, Horsey found opposing fans were being somewhat more polite to one another than usual.

“SEC football can get nasty on game day and can get a little raucous,” he said. “But there’s a little different sense of civility and that there’s bigger things than football.”

The mood was patient and upbeat at 2609 Canal Street. Donors stood in line or sat on fold-out chairs, chatting cheerfully and snacking on potato chips as they waited.

Billy Weales, CEO of The Blood Center, said the last time he had seen similar turnout was for 9/11.

“I think we need a bigger parking lot,” he said, looking out at about 60 people who were waiting to give blood at one of the donation trucks parked outside.

Mandy Garrett, a 34-year-old engineer, said she heard about the blood drive on Instagram.

“It’s what I can do. There’s really not much else we can do ... where you feel like you have a little bit of control of the outcome,” she said.

The New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street injured dozens and killed 14 people. The attacker also died.

Officials have reviewed surveillance video showing people standing near an improvised explosive device that Jabbar placed in a cooler along the city’s Bourbon Street, where the attack occurred.

Following the review, authorities “do not believe at this point these people are involved ... in any way,” said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division.

“I believe New Orleans is very secure,” Attorney General Liz Murrill said Thursday in a post on the social platform X. “We can honor the lives that were lost by not bowing down to fear brought on by a cowardly terrorist attack.”

The College Football Playoff quarterfinal is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CST on Thursday, 36 hours after the deadly attack on Bourbon Street.

Crowds are already flocking to the Caesars Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl. Alongside food trucks and foot traffic, a fleet of armored vehicles maintains a watchful presence.

Heaven Sensky-Kirsch says her father, Jeremi Sensky, endured 10 hours of surgery for injuries from the truck attack that included two broken legs. He was taken off a ventilator Thursday.

Jeremi Sensky was ejected from the wheelchair he has used since a 1999 car accident and had bruises to his face and head, Sensky-Kirsch said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

Sensky, 51, had driven from his home in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, to New Orleans to celebrate the holiday.

He and his wife, his daughter, his son-in-law and two friends stopped for a few days in Nashville before arriving in New Orleans.

Before the attack, Sensky and the two friends had been having pizza, his daughter said. Sensky left them to return to his hotel on Canal Street because he felt cold, she said.

Sensky-Kirsch said others could see the attacker coming and were able to run out of the way, but her father “was stuck on the road.”

When he didn’t return to the hotel, they went to look for him, ending up in an emergency room, she said.

“We thought he was dead,” Sensky-Kirsch said. “We can’t believe he’s alive.”

As New Orleans approaches the start of its carnival season on Monday, a monthslong period leading up to Mardi Gras, the city normally celebrates with parades and king cake.

But Kim Do, 47, whose Hi-Do bakery is a beloved supplier of the carnival treat, says she worries that orders for the biggest moneymaker of her family-run business will be significantly down.

“The mood in the city, we feel it today, I don’t know how we’re going to move forward after this tragedy,” Do said.

“I personally would be scared to even go out there, to be in the parades — I think there’s going to be a lot less people, a lot less activities,” she said. “I think the city will try to go back to the normal stuff as much as possible but I think we’re all going to be a little more cautious.”

Fifteen people were killed in the attack, said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division. That number includes the 14 victims killed plus the assailant, Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

“We know that he specifically picked out Bourbon Street, not sure why,” said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division.

“He was 100 percent inspired by ISIS,” he added.

“The city of New Orleans, we’re resilient,” New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell said.

“The confidence is there to reopen Bourbon Street to the public before game time today,” Cantrell added.

The FBI obtained surveillance video of Shamsud Din Jabbar placing the explosive devices where they were found, said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division.

The FBI also found “no definitive link” between the New Orleans attack and the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.

The FBI has received more than 400 tips from the public, some from New Orleans and others from other states, Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division, said at a news conference on Thursday.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday evening the FBI was looking into whether an explosion outside a Las Vegas hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump was connected to the New Orleans attack.

Fireworks and camp fuel canisters were found in a Tesla Cybertruck that blew up outside the Trump International Hotel early Wednesday, killing a suspect inside the vehicle.

The person who died in the explosion was an active-duty U.S. Army soldier who spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, three U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. The officials also spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose details of his service.

The truck explosion came hours after a driver, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans. Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran, also spent time at Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to Army special forces command. An official told the AP that there is no apparent overlap in their assignments there.

The investigation so far has not shown the incidents are related, and authorities don’t think the men knew each other, two law enforcement officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

▶ Read more about the Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion

The FBI says it recovered the black banner of the Islamic State group from the truck that smashed into New Year’s partygoers. The investigation is expected to look in part at any support or inspiration that driver Shamsud-Din Jabbar may have drawn from that violent Middle East-based group or from any of at least 19 affiliated groups around the world.

Routed from its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq by a U.S. military-led coalition more than five years ago, IS has focused on seizing territory in the Middle East more than on staging massive al-Qaida-style attacks on the West.

But in its home territory, IS has welcomed any chance to behead Americans and other foreigners who come within its reach. The main group at peak strength claimed a handful of coordinated operations targeting the West, including a 2015 Paris plot that killed 130 people. It has had success, although abated in recent years, in inspiring people around the world who are drawn to its ideology to carry out ghastly attacks on innocent civilians.

▶ Read more about IS and what attacks it has inspired

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry will be joined at the news conference by officials from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Louisiana State Police and the New Orleans Police Department.

The conference is scheduled to begin around 10:15 a.m. CST.

“The Superdome is completely secure,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said on Fox News. “Again, the FBI continues to pour resources into the state.”

Landry said he plans to attend Thursday afternoon’s college football playoff game between the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame.

“We need not let fear paralyze us,” Landry added. “That’s the problem in this country. When we do that, the terrorists win.”

ROME — A telegram of condolences, addressed to Archbishop Gregory Aymond, said Francis was saddened to learn of the attack in New Orleans and was spiritually close to the city.

Francis “prays for healing and consolation of the injured and bereaved,” said the telegram, which was signed by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Separately, Italian President Sergio Mattarella also sent condolences to President Joe Biden, whom he will see during Biden’s visit to Rome next week, saying all of Italy was mourning the loss of life.

“At this time of sorrow for the American people, I would like to reaffirm the firm resolve of the Italian Republic to oppose in the strongest terms all forms of terrorism, on the basis of those values of civilization, democracy and respect for human life that have always been shared with the United States,” he said in a statement.

The College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed by a day because of the truck attack, which unfolded about a mile away.

The game, originally scheduled for 7:45 p.m. CST at the 70,000-seat Superdome on Wednesday, was pushed back to 3 p.m. Thursday. The winner advances to the Jan. 9 Orange Bowl against Penn State.

“Public safety is paramount,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said at a media briefing alongside federal, state and local officials, including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “All parties all agree that it’s in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game.”

The decision to postpone the game meant numerous traveling fans with tickets would not be able to attend. Ticket prices online plummeted in some cases to less than $25 as fans with plans to depart on Thursday tried to unload them.

The Superdome was on lockdown for security sweeps on Wednesday morning. Both teams spent most of the day in their hotels, holding meetings in ballrooms.

▶ Read more about the decision to postpone the Sugar Bowl

Officials have not yet released the names of the 15 people killed in the New Orleans New Year’s Day truck attack, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories.

Here’s a look at some of what we know:

▶ Read more about the victims of the New Orleans truck attack

Authorities say the driver of a pickup truck sped through a crowd of pedestrians gathered in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter district early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people and injuring about 30 others. The suspect was killed in a shootout with police.

The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism and said it does not believe the driver acted alone.

Wednesday’s attack unfolded on Bourbon Street, known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties. Large crowds had also gathered in the city ahead of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl, which had been scheduled for later Wednesday at the nearby Superdome. The game was postponed until Thursday afternoon following the attack.

▶ Catch up on what we know about the New Orleans truck attack

Tourist walk on Bourbon Street, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

FBI personnel arrive at the Caesars Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

CORRECTS TO CAESARS, NOT CEASARS - Local SWAT teams patrol outside the Caesars Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Fans pass through security check points as they enter the Caesars Superdome fan zone ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Street view of Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Fans pass through security check points as they enter the Superdome fan zone ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Security and bomb sniffing dogs check vehicles as they enter the Superdome parking garage ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Security with bomb sniffing dogs patrol the area around the Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Military personnel walk down Bourbon street, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A state trooper stands by New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon streets, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Emergency personnel work the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The FBI investigates the area on Orleans St and Bourbon Street by St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter where a suspicious package was detonated after a person drove a truck into a crowd earlier on Bourbon Street on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Matthias Hauswirth of New Orleans prays on the street near the scene where a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon streets, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A bouquet of flowers stands at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street during the investigation after a pickup truck rammed into a crowd of revelers early on New Year's Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

An officer walks along Conti Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon streets, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Law enforcement officers stand behind a SWAT vehicle near a location in Houston, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, where police personnel investigate the place suspected to be associated with an attacker in a deadly rampage in New Orleans. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Investigators work the scene after a person drove a vehicle into a crowd earlier on Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Neighbors stand and watch outside the police lines surrounding a location in Houston, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, where police personnel investigate the place suspected to be associated with an attacker in a deadly rampage in New Orleans. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Police officers stand near the scene where a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon streets, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Neighbors embrace as they stand outside the police lines surrounding a location in Houston, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, where police personnel investigate the place suspected to be associated with an attacker in a deadly rampage in New Orleans. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)