A security warning has been issued for New Orleans on Wednesday, January 1, 2025 due to an incident with which at least 15 people were killed and dozens more people were injured by a vehicle that plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street and Canal Street in the French Quarter during the early morning hours.
Security Warning Issued For New Orleans January 2025: Travel Alert
Today, at approximately 3:15 a.m. CST, an individual drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens of others. After hitting the crowd, he exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement. Law enforcement returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two law enforcement officers were injured and transported to a local hospital.
The subject has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas. He was driving a Ford pickup truck, which appears to have been rented, and we are working to confirm how the subject came into possession of the vehicle.
An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter. The FBI’s special agent bomb technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe.
The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. We are aggressively running down all leads to identify any possible associates of the subject.
The FBI has set up a digital tip line, and we ask anyone with information or video of the incident to submit them to www.fbi.gov/bourbonstreetattack or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Video shows the moment the FBI says Shamsud Din Jabbar raced onto a packed Bourbon Street from Canal Street in a pickup truck with Texas plates and an ISIS flag. https://t.co/P0iWiTX30Z pic.twitter.com/hmeB1tUjpc
— FOX 8 New Orleans (@FOX8NOLA) January 1, 2025
This statement is from the official Internet web site of the city of New Orleans:
The 8th District is currently working a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street at approximately 3:15 AM.
This is an active scene. Stay off of Bourbon from Canal to Dumaine and from Royal to Dauphine.
Updates will follow as they are received.
Among other events, the Sugar Bowl college football game between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed until 4:00 in the afternoon tomorrow, Thursday, January 2, 2025. Its original starting time was at 8:30 in the evening tonight.
Flight Waivers, Delays and Cancellations
If you are traveling to, from, or within New Orleans over the next couple of days, expect delays and cancellations of flights. Keep up to date on the latest information pertaining to the security incident which may adversely affect your travel plans. Better yet, postponing or canceling your trip might be a better option — no matter which mode of travel you plan on taking.
If you have a flight scheduled, your flight may be delayed or canceled — and you may be eligible for a waiver of a fee to change your itinerary. If you are driving in any of these areas, watch out for traffic problems.
Here are six airlines which have issued travel alerts as a result of this civil unrest:
- American Airlines has issued a travel alert for New Orleans for Wednesday, January 1, 2025 through Friday, January 3, 2025; and Monday, January 6, 2025 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
- Delta Air Lines has issued a travel alert for New Orleans for Wednesday, January 1, 2025 through Friday, January 3, 2025; and Monday, January 6, 2025 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
- United Airlines has issued a travel alert for New Orleans for Wednesday, January 1, 2025 through Friday, January 3, 2025; and Monday, January 6, 2025 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
- Southwest Airlines has issued a travel alert for New Orleans for Wednesday, January 1, 2025 through Friday, January 3, 2025; and Friday, January 17, 2025 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
- JetBlue Airways has issued a travel alert for New Orleans for Wednesday, January 1, 2025 through Friday, January 3, 2025; and Wednesday, January 8, 2025 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
- Breeze Airways has issued a travel alert for New Orleans for Wednesday, January 1, 2025 through Friday, January 3, 2025; and Friday, January 17, 2025 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
Final Boarding Call
Be sure to contact your airline or transportation provider for the latest information pertaining to your travels — if they are adversely affected — and please: travel safely.
Photograph ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
