Families continue to mourn victims of the deadly New Year's Eve attack that left several dead in the U.S. city of New Orleans, while community members have urged the local government to take decisive action to prevent such violence in the future.
While New Orleans may have returned to business as usual, residents of the historic French Quarter have set up memorials to pay tribute to those who died in the attack on Bourbon Street.
Crosses and prayer candles carry the images of the deceased, reflecting the neighborhood's Catholic traditions.
With the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras just around the corner for New Orleans in 2025, residents said that things can only get better after the tragic start to the year, but they hope the loss will not be soon forgotten.
"It just breaks my heart, and out of this tragedy I hope that the city leaders really do realize that they need to get a little bit more of a handle on what happens down here, because there are other events. I just don't want the city to turn the page and just like, oh, it's the Super Bowl, we're ready to go. We really need to absorb the fact that this was a huge loss, that we need to do things to ensure that never happens again," said Maryanne Lewis, a French Quarter resident.
U.S. President Joe Biden will visit New Orleans on Monday to console victims' families and meet with city officials.
Early on New Year's Day, a tragic vehicle attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the southern U.S. state of Louisiana left at least 15 people dead and around 30 others injured.
The bloodshed occurred when the driver of a pickup truck plowed into a crowd of New Year revelers on Bourbon Street, one of the city's busiest streets. The suspect was killed in a shootout with police, and the attack is now being investigated by the FBI as a potential act of terrorism.
New Orleans residents mourn truck attack victims, urge efforts to prevent similar incidents
New Orleans residents mourn truck attack victims, urge efforts to prevent similar incidents
New Orleans residents mourn truck attack victims, urge efforts to prevent similar incidents
New Orleans residents mourn truck attack victims, urge efforts to prevent similar incidents
