The shocking truck attack that claimed 14 lives and injured dozens more in New Orleans on New Year’s Day has put US law enforcement on high alert for more vehicle rampages. In a chilling bulletin, the FBI warned that copycat attacks “are likely to remain attractive for aspiring assailants” due to the low skill level required and ease of obtaining vehicles.
Authorities Scramble to Prevent More Carnage
The joint bulletin from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and National Counterterrorism Center urged heightened vigilance from law enforcement and private security firms. It cautioned that in many previous cases, vehicle attackers were armed and continued their assaults with guns or bladed weapons after plowing into crowds.
Officials identified the New Orleans attacker as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old military veteran from Texas. The FBI stated Jabbar was “100% inspired” by ISIS to turn his truck into a deadly weapon on the crowded streets of the French Quarter.
A Tragically Foreseeable Target
Disturbingly, a confidential 2019 security assessment had specifically warned that Bourbon Street, the site of the attack, was vulnerable to vehicular assault. The report noted the bollards meant to block vehicles “did not appear to work” and flagged vehicle ramming and active shooters as the top threats.
This should be no surprise to anyone who’s ever been tasked with protecting an area dense with pedestrian traffic. The French Quarter is the perfect target.
Don Aviv, CEO of Interfor International, which conducted the 2019 assessment
A Mounting Threat Across the Nation
The New Orleans massacre marked the seventh vehicle ramming attack in the US inspired by foreign extremists since 2001. However, warnings about the tactic are not new. As far back as 2010, DHS and the FBI cautioned that vehicle attacks offered terrorists with limited access to explosives or weapons a low-complexity way to strike the homeland.
- 2017 New York bike path attack: Sayfullo Saipov killed 8 and injured 11
- 2103 al-Qaida article: Urged using trucks to “mow down enemies of Allah”
With the death toll from the New Orleans attack at 14 and rising, it has become the deadliest vehicular assault in the US to date. As the nation reels from the shocking brutality and loss of life, authorities are in a desperate race to thwart aspiring copycats and prevent even more bloodshed on America’s streets.
