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deliver fast call. click granger.com or stop by granger for the ones who get it done. >> closed captioning is brought to you by sokolov law. >> mesothelioma victims call now $30 million in trust. money has been set aside. you may be entitled to a portion of that money. call one 800 859 2400. that's one 808 five 9400. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> and we are following breaking news this hour. any moment now, we expect an update from law enforcement in new orleans after the deadly new year's attack that is being investigated as an act of terrorism. police say at least ten people have died. dozens

have been injured, many of them critically, after a driver intentionally rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on the famous bourbon street. the fbi has now identified the suspect as a man from texas. officials say he had an i.s.i.s. flag at the time, and that several suspected explosive devices were found inside his vehicle. we also have some new video of police exchanging gunfire with the driver. you see people fleeing the scene after they were trying to help people who had been injured. authorities confirmed that they shot and killed the driver after they say he fired shots at officers, hitting and wounding two of them. let's start our coverage now with cnn's omar jimenez. he's live on the scene there in new orleans. and omar, as we are awaiting this news conference, which is slated here for a couple minutes ago, not unusual for there to be a delay from officials. just bring us up to speed with what we know so far. yeah, yeah.

>> so at this point, we know a few things on a number of different fronts. so for starters, at least ten have been killed, over 30 injured at least as far as we know so far to this point, that death toll hasn't changed too much from what we heard in the initial stages, but we could get a major update from some of these law enforcement sources and others when this press conference gets going here shortly. here at the scene itself, we are just outside the french quarter. you, this, this van, this mobile communications center pulled in just a few minutes ago so you can't quite see the entrance to bourbon street, which is what we have been looking at over the course of most of this afternoon, where we've seen coroner vans coming in and out. we've seen, of course, investigators going in and out seems to very much still be an active scene right now as they try to piece together not just how this attack unfolded, but, of course, get closer to that question of why. and that brings me to some of what you mentioned before, coming to me for this report is what we are now learning from the fbi about

the driver of this specific truck, that this was a person, a u.s. citizen from texas, also an i.s.i.s. flag found in the vehicle, multiple explosives believed to be found or potentially identified, not just in the truck, but around as well. so clearly they are still working through this scene and trying to figure out just what type of attack was planned. obviously, the beginning aspects of it played out, but also where the plan originated on that front. so those are potentially some of the answers we may get from law enforcement coming up, but it is still an investigatory process. but bottom line with the people that have been killed, this happened in the opening hours of 2025. we were just talking to a shop owner who has a shop right on the corner about a block from us on bourbon street, he says. it is typically crowded on a weekend night, for example, but on a new year's eve night, it was extra crowded. not to mention you have a big football game

going on that was supposed to be going on tonight, so you have an extra bit of crowd. they were closing up shop around 3 a.m., which is right around when this attack unfolded, and they said it was just as crowded as you would have thought it would have been around midnight. and so clearly people were still out. they were still celebrating in large force. and when you look at some of the videos that we've seen, the horrific videos that have come out, there are still people clearly in the initial aftermath trying to process what just happened in front of them and likely moving forward, going to have to try and process with what happened in these initial moments of 2025. brianna. >> yeah, certainly. and we're looking to get more information from this press conference. you see folks assembling for that there in new orleans. it's shaping up to be quite an assortment of figures there from new orleans and louisiana. you can see senator john kennedy there in the background. it appears as well. and you have law enforcement federally as well as state and local there. this appears imminent. so we're going to keep discussing also some important new information we're

getting, but we're going to break away as soon as this begins. and we will take that news conference live. i want to bring in evan perez. also with us is cnn's tom foreman. evan, what are you learning? >> well, one of the things we know right now is that the pentagon is going to have to explain a little bit about this, because we're told that this person, the suspect, brianna, is a former member of the u.s. military. we've asked we've reached out to the to the to the military, to the pentagon for some more details about their service. but that is also adding to the complex picture of this, of this suspect. we know that the fact that there was an i.s.i.s. flag obviously leads the fbi to believe that there was some kind of radicalization that happened. and so that's perhaps one of the questions that will be addressed here by the law enforcement that is there. obviously, the fact that there were multiple locations where there were additional explosives, who put them? there was this person acting alone or did they did they put them there themselves, or did they have additional help from

someone who placed those explosives? what was the overall larger plan here? it's clear that the vehicle ramming of this crowd was not just one part of this plan. this was a much larger attack based on what we are now learning from the fbi. this was something that obviously he was armed was he came out firing at the police officers. and that's one of some of the scenes you heard there in that video that you played there, brianna. and also obviously, the idea that there are additional explosives. >> sorry. let's listen in to this news conference there in new orleans. >> thank you for being here today and for your patience. first, i want to acknowledge the victims of today's horrific attack. the fbi and our partners are working diligently to investigate and find answers on behalf of the victims, the citizens and residents of louisiana and everyone visiting the city. i'm going to provide you some facts and information about what we do know. i know that all of you will have questions, and we will try to

provide some answers, but this is an ongoing investigation that's rapidly evolving. so there are some questions i will be unable to answer at this time. the fbi is the lead investigative agency, and we're investigating this as an attack of terrorism, along with our partners. today, at approximately 3:15 a.m. central standard time, an individual drove a pickup truck into a crowd on bourbon street in new orleans, killing at least ten individuals and injuring dozens more. 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 local hospitals. the subject has been identified as 42 year old shamsud-din jabbar, a u.s. born citizen from texas. he was driving a ford pickup truck, which appears to be rented, and we

are working to confirm how the subject came in possession of this vehicle. an i.s.i.s. flag was located on the trailer hitch of the vehicle, and the fbi is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations. weapons and potential improvised explosive devices. ieds were located in the subject's vehicle. other potential ieds were also located in the french quarter. as of now, two ieds have been found and rendered safe. the fbi special agent bomb technicians, as well as our local law enforcement partners, have been working to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe. the fbi, we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. we are aggressively running down all of the leads to identify this. the possible subject's associates. we are working to ensure that there is no further threat. we do not believe that

jabar was solely responsible. we are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates. that's why we need the public's help. we are asking if anybody has any interactions with shamsud-din jabbar in the last 72 hours that you contact us, the fbi is asking the public's help. we're asking anyone who has information, video or pictures to provide it to the fbi. we have set up a digital tip line, as well as our one 800 number one 800 call fbi. please provide us with any information that can assist us in this investigation. once again, thank you for your patience and assistance for an updated statement or information, please check the fbi's website and our social media accounts. i will now turn it over to mayor cantrell. thank you, thank you, thank you very much. >> thank you, agent duncan, for your leadership and the full

support of the fbi. a first and foremost, i want to express my deep, deepest condolences to the families and loved ones that were impacted by this tragedy on bourbon street and in the heart of the city of new orleans. and i know that the entire new orleans city council grieves along right with me, no doubt about that. and our people and our families, my priority will continue to be to ensure that victims that remain on bourbon street now will be serviced and removed as soon as possible. but as stated, the fbi is in charge of this investigation and are doing everything necessary to make this happen. i also want to acknowledge

hearing from president biden, all of our federal partners, but most importantly, calling governor landrieu this morning, i responded with haste. and we do say thank you. and, of course, a demonstration of a unified support is right here in this room. that's how we collectively responded to this tragedy in the city of new orleans. the mission now is to facilitate, support and coordinate safety procedures to keep our residents and our visitors safe. i have gone to the hospital, along with chief kirkpatrick, to visit our police officers and considering their injuries, they're doing well. as i mentioned, this investigation is ongoing and the fbi remains the lead in the investigation. it is an active crime scene as

well. we are committed, no doubt, to uncovering all details surrounding this tragedy. and we are taking every necessary step to put even more safety procedures in place, especially given the nature of the investigation. i'm going to ask people to do not go around our secured area if there is no essential need to do so. it matters. and again, it is an active crime scene. i also want you all to know that the greater new orleans foundation has set up a fund to assist victims, and that information will be provided to you. thank you. go now. again, i want to thank this unified team. we're leaning in.

we will be relentless and we will do everything that it takes to render real justice. this team will. i want to also just thank our citizens for your heartfelt prayers. new orleans is a world class city, and i can say that i've heard from world leaders all this morning and up until now, in addition to my brother and sister mayors across this country, they're calling, they're responding, and they're standing with the city of new orleans. and what they always say and want me to reiterate, they understand the resilience of this community, and we're strong in that regard. and i will say second to none. so with that, i'm going to turn it over to our governor. and as i mentioned, who has not wavered any in leaning in providing the necessary support and standing right here with me, and i say, thank you, governor. and i know the first lady is standing with us as well. >> thank you. thank you, madam

mayor. thank you. um, again, i want to thank the mayor since about 345 this morning when she called me, we have all been working, uh, just around the clock to both secure the city and, um, to solve, um, this act. you know, again, i want to reiterate that our prayers go out with all of those who have been affected by this tragedy. i want to thank our law enforcement officers. i want to thank our medical personnel. i want to thank our first responders. and most importantly, i want to thank the two new new orleans police officers who not only laid their life on the line, but were able to eliminate the threat this morning let me say we have made public safety a state priority from day one, and i think that if you look around me today, right now, and you look at the people who are standing around, that is their commitment as well. we intend

to be transparent in assessing any defects that may have existed in the system, so that we can address them. it's the only way to ensure that any mistakes that were made are corrected. specifically, we have been trying and working very diligently to address security concerns in preparation for the super bowl. since october. and it's interesting because ironically or ironically, in preparation for the super bowl, i had intended to issue an emergency, um, declaration tomorrow so that we could bring all of our federal, state and local um agencies to bear in preparation for the super bowl and mardi gras. but because of the events today, i have amended that emergency declaration and issued it today. so again, that declaration will allow our

federal, state and local partners to bring all of the resources necessary to get this city safe. in light of that executive order, i have also ordered the mobilization of a military police company. i've asked general freeland to mobilize the military police company to assist both new orleans police and lsp and the fbi. it is important for our citizens and guests of this state to know that we are doing everything we can to secure their safety, and this city, we want to make it clear the superdome and the surrounding area is safe. but i've always said that the safety of this entire city is something that is always paramount to me. with that, i would like to turn

it over to, um, to jeff. um, jeff, with the super bowl commissioner. jeff, jeff, jeff. >> thank you, thank you, thank you. mayor. zarna garg. >> good afternoon. obviously, we wish we weren't here for this reason today. the sugar bowl committee has a 90 year history at being a good corporate citizen for the city of new orleans. and ht now. so condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families as we all work through this. of course, anytime we have a major event in the city of new orleans, public safety is paramount and we have full faith and confidence in the governor and the mayor and all the assets the federal, state and local resources that they've applied to this event so that we can

ultimately bring those responsible to justice and carry on with the major events that that we have in front of us. speaking of which, we were scheduled this evening to have a cfp quarterfinal played in the superdome at 745. we have been in consultation with espn, with the college football playoff, with the southeastern conference, with the university of georgia, with notre dame, all parties and all agree that it's in the best interests of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game for 24 hours. work is fast about to set up a safe and efficient and fun environment for tomorrow night. there'll be more details on that in the coming hours, but for now, that's the plan that we're going to move forward and play the game. and again, we reiterate our thanks to everyone up here for the

work and important work they're doing. we live in the fun and games world with what we do, but we certainly recognize the importance of this and we're going to support it 100%. so thank you, thank you, thank you. >> i'd like to bring up senator kennedy. thank you jeff. >> um. >> i wish i wish i understood better why bad things happen to good people. if if i make it to heaven, i'm going to ask. um, for those people who don't believe in objective evil. um, all you have to do is look at what happened in our city early this morning. i am, uh, if this doesn't trigger the gag reflex of every american, uh,

every fair minded american. um, i'll be very surprised. uh, b i'm here because these are my people. i'm here because these are my people's friends. i'm here because, uh, because there are a lot of louisianians that are scared tonight. i don't want them to be. um, there's a lot of information going around. some of it is actually true. some of it isn't. the federal government is now in charge of this investigation. by that i mean the white house. uh, the fbi, the department of homeland security and the department of justice. um, i have not talked to the fbi. maybe they've talked to my staff. i don't know, i did talk to the secretary of homeland security a little while ago, and i told

him that with all the respect i could muster, um, that we expect to put the full force and resources of the federal government behind this investigation. um, our state troopers, our our local police departments, our sheriffs. we've got many sheriffs here today have been terrific so far. the federal government is cooperating with them. i hope that will continue. here's what i want to ask from the federal government. catch these people. catch these people. and then tell the american people the truth. now, i don't want you to tell us yet anything that's going to interfere with your investigation. and there are things that i've been told that i think are true, that i'm not sharing with you today because it could interfere with their investigation. um, but after we get to the bottom of this, they need to tell the american people the truth. and the people of new orleans the

truth and the people of america the truth. i think the mayor and the governor are very wise to postpone this ball game for 24 hours. there's just too much stuff. we don't know. and it's it's it's just not worth it. but, um, i guess my final point is, i will promise you this. i will when when it is appropriate in this investigation is complete, you will find out what happened and who was responsible, or i will raise fresh hell, and i will chase those in the federal government who are responsible for telling us what happened. like they stole christmas. >> thank you sir. thank you, senator kennedy. um, congressman carter, i thank you. thank you, governor. >> thank you mayor. thank you, senator kennedy. thank you to all of our law enforcement

agents for doing a yeoman's job for stepping up at a time when we needed you most for employing the resources of all of our partners. this is all hands on deck from the white house, all the way down. i've been in communication with the white house since early this morning. secretary mayorkas, leaders in all of our federal, local and state agencies. the president has made it very clear that he intends to bring every resource to bear to not only tell the truth, but to provide the resources to bring these cowards to justice. i want to personally thank the men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line to protect our citizens and our visitors to our mayor and our governor for acting expeditiously and bringing us all together to assure us from the surrounding areas who have been johnny on the spot, recognizing that if it happens in new orleans, it

can happen anywhere. we don't have the luxury of being myopic in this community. we work together. we don't point fingers. we don't blame. we go after the bad guys. let it be clear that the full faith and credit of the united states and every agency therein is on the ground, working. and for those who may have played a role in this horrific act of cowardice, we will find you. we will bring you to justice. new orleans is a place that heralds its ability to protect its citizens, that heralds its ability to manage major events. super bowl, sugar bowl, mardi gras, jazz fest, essence festival, you name it. no one does it better than law enforcement in new orleans and in the surrounding area. kudos to those two officers who have been wounded. our hearts go out

to those who lost loved ones. our hearts go out to those who are wounded and on the mend in the hospital. citizens, now is the time to stay calm, to be vigilant. this is not a time to come out, to sightsee. listen to your federal, local, state officials. be vigilant. if you saw something, say something. if you know something, tell someone. there are tip lines. there's information available. please all hands on deck. rest assured that the decision that was made to postpone the game was not done lightly. it was done with one single thing in mind public safety. making sure that the citizens and visitors of this great city, not only for this event, but for every event you come to in louisiana, that you will be safe. and we will use

every resource possible. as the governor has said, as the mayor has said, and every law enforcement agent here has said, our energy, our commitment will be to make sure that you are safe now and for every event in the future. god bless you and let's stay strong. >> thank you. congressman, attorney general. >> i first want to extend my sincerest condolences to the families of the victims. parents got a phone call last night. this morning, early this morning that that no parent ever, ever wants to receive. and as a parent, a parent of children who come to new orleans and and spend time here, i know that that that is just something that, you know, we we crossed we hold our hold our breath sometimes until they're home safe. and some people do not come home safe. and we also have some people who are fighting for their lives right now in the

hospital. so i would ask everyone to pray for them. they need our support and they need our prayers. this was a heinous act, a heinous, cowardly act and we will find them and we will bring them to justice. my office will be providing both investigative and prosecutorial support to the city of new orleans, to the district attorney, jason williams in new orleans, as i have done for months, we will continue to do that. we will provide the governor with whatever support that he needs and and the office of the governor's office of homeland security, whatever support that they need. i'll be here to help. i will be here to stand with the city of new orleans. we will bring them to justice. thank you, thank you, thank you. >> tanya chutkan. >> thank you, governor. thank you, governor and madam mayor, for those who do not know me, my name is anne kirkpatrick. i'm the chief of police of new

orleans. my title, official title is superintendent, but my role is as chief of police. you know, you've heard some of the details today and over the last 24 hours, we had approximately 400 officers and the french quarter. and as we know, this is not just an act of of terrorism. this is evil. and when we face evil, we have a choice. we can run in fear, or we can indeed stand in strength in a time of crisis. people are looking for leadership. you are looking at the leadership. and i promise you, as the chief of police of this city, this city has been tried by fire before, but fire purifies

fire makes things stronger. we have a plan. we know what to do. we are going to get these people. there is a path forward. very pleased that we will be back to having a wonderful game tomorrow night. new orleans police have proven their ability to make the city safer. just two years ago, we were the murder capital of america. today, from that time two years ago, we have driven our murder rate more than 50% down. so we have a track record. but this is different because it's terrorism. now, i want to thank all of our law enforcement partners. you're fabulous and we appreciate the partnership.

but last night, three of our officers engaged this terrorist who shot at them, three of the officers returned fire. those officers did not run in fear. i liked what the mayor said this morning. new orleans police and all law enforcement is built. we are built for dealing with evil, with things that would cause us others to be in fear, but instead our officers. and last night in opd, particular, stood strong. they did not run. they did kill the terrorist. we have two officers indeed, who received gunfire. they will be okay. we have personally gone to see them. but this is leadership

for you and i promise as the chief of police of this fantastic city, that i will be strong and firm and fearless thank you. thank you, chief. >> thank you. and wrapping it up, i want to just close with a couple of things. um, i want to thank senator kennedy and congressman carter. um, i want to thank again all of our law enforcement officers out there. i want the families of the victims to know that i will be issuing an executive order that tomorrow when notre dame. plays georgia, every flag over every state building in this state is going to be at half mast in remembrance of them. but remembering something else, that fear in this state is a liar. and these folks right here are going to make sure that justice is served. and for the citizens out there

that are saying, well, man, do i really want to go to the sugar bowl tomorrow? i'll tell you one thing. your governor is going to be there. that is proof. believe you me, that that facility in this city is safer today than it was yesterday. and we are. and as we come to additional events in this city, i know in speaking with senator kennedy and congressman carter and fbi acting director. and incoming administration, that they are going to ensure that this city has the resources necessary to protect our citizens and our guests. and so with that, we'll take some questions. all right. >> if you could, we'll start over here with cbs. katie, we'll work our way across the room. if i miss you, just give me a holler. i may not see you. go ahead. sir. >> katie rice with cbs news. um, i mean, i think this has been a really tough day for a

lot of people, but at this point, we're hearing that the death toll, according to some fbi sources, has gone up to 15. is this true? that's true. >> who wants the answer? that i can tell you. >> do you have a final number? we do not have a final number. we know that we have confirmed ten, but we did have people who had been transported who were in critical condition. and so i do not know that. but i can confirm ten and one quick follow up question, if i may, um, we know that there have been some local records in texas about, um, a misdemeanor background on this suspect. >> um, any signs or warnings ahead of time about this person or their plans for for what to happen this morning? >> because that is the investigation part. i will give the fbi. >> at this time, we cannot go into details about the subject's history. what i can

tell you, the person was an army veteran. we believe he was honorably discharged. but we're working through this process, figuring out all this information. the goal with the fbi is to provide you with the most accurate and complete information. so once that information is confirmed, we'll make sure we push that out. thank you. >> ariel. at this time, do you know exactly as far as the victims, how many are from here in louisiana versus out of state and their ages? >> maybe at this time, i can't go into details about all the victims. we want to make sure that first that the family is notified appropriately before we put any information out there. so once the families are all notified, then we'll go ahead and release a statement to everyone. >> and i would ask the press in relation to the victims and those that are in the hospital, if we could just refrain from worrying about them or their loved ones can take care of them, and the medical personnel that are that are trying to get them out of the hospital can do so. and as information becomes available. but we want to respect the privacy, um, of those who are still either fighting for their lives or, or

or being cared for. thank you. >> i'll follow up if i may. go ahead. um, you guys mentioned accomplices. >> you don't think that the suspect acted alone about how many were suspects are you guys looking into at this point? >> it's a range of suspects. and right now, with the faa, we do not run a rule anything out. so that's why we're asking if anyone has had any interaction with the deceased subject jumaa in the last 72 hours. provided with this, provide us with this information. you can provide us that information through one 800. call fbi or our digital digital tips line, which is available on our social media website, as well as the big fbi website. >> can i say something? tell me who you're with. wdsu, wdsu, okay, and cbs, nbc's over here on the right. oh, that's unusual position. um. >> i don't get it. uh, you wouldn't. >> um, look, the fbi is not going to be able to answer those questions, okay? uh, they

will eventually. i promise you. okay. uh, once the fbi has a chance to investigate all of this along working with state police, uh, working with homeland security, working with the city of new orleans. they're going to tell you what happened. i can promise you that. or i'm going to raise fresh hell. but right now, they're in the process of trying to catch the other bad guys. and i want to give them the benefit of the doubt for a while. >> 2620. um, yeah. >> i had a question about the victims. i know that there was obviously gunfire exchanged. so i guess many victims were shot and then how many were injured? look, again, let me reiterate both special agent duncan and senator kennedy. >> there's a lot of i get that you all want to know my new details. what we don't want to do is impede this investigation

or spend any time talking about things that don't get us closer to hunting these folks down and securing this city. and so at a particular point in time, we will release as much information as we can. but at this time, in relation to the investigation, i would ask you all to refrain from those. >> so, ladies and gentlemen, if we don't, if we're going to just have more of the same as the governor just said, we're going to provide that information, but we're going to wrap the press conference. now. we have a second. >> hold on. >> let me finish you listening. if all of the questions are more of the same, what the governor just said in position, we won't be doing that to provide that information. and if you have a different question, mine's different. then let's do that quickly and move on. okay. >> my question, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. hold on. there, ma'am. hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. >> who was next? we had over here. >> hi, rachel wolf from the wall street journal. you said

you were confident there are multiple suspects involved. what makes you confident in that? >> well, like, why would we tell you that again? that's. i mean, look, look again again, look again. we want to answer pertinent questions. but anything that would lead to impeding or endangering this investigation is not going to be said. okay. and we will as information unfolds. this is a very fluid, fluid process. and remember something too. we're doing two things. we're hunting some bad people down and we're securing the city too. we're getting ready for a sugar bowl tomorrow. so if you all would again, if you have questions regarding the sugar bowl, the safety of the city or something to that effect, we're happy to answer over here. okay. go ahead. >> go ahead alyssa, give me one second. >> usually in parts of the french quarter, specifically in parts of bourbon street, there are ballers. um, we're hearing that some of those may have been down because of repairs.

can you speak to that? and maybe was there any backup option of putting a truck there or an opd? uh, car there? >> well, let me tell you. yeah. one, i'm going to let the mayor answer. i want you to know that's one of the first things i thought of this morning when the mayor called me. okay. and, um, and, and i will tell you that whatever the problem was, is going to be solved. >> thank you for having us thank you, governor, and thank you for the question. >> i do understand that it's been on your radar since this morning as it relates to the bollards on bourbon street over ten years ago. excuse me. okay. over ten years ago, the city of new orleans implemented an infrastructure project placing bollards on bourbon street. shortly thereafter, the malfunctions of those bollards ensued from

mardi gras beads online on down. but the new orleans police department, of course, deemed them inefficient because they did not operate the way that they were intended to do because the city of new orleans is hosting super bowl this year, it gave the city of new orleans an opportunity to go further and deeper with infrastructure improvements. as we've been talking about. so as a result of that, we were able to build in bollard replacement into our super bowl infrastructure package. and because of that, the city of new orleans has moved forward with that infrastructure that is nearing completion. bollards were not up because they are near completion with the expectation of being completed. of course, by super bowl way before super bowl. but that is

the reason. now, the new orleans police department and chief, you can speak to the deployment as to respond to our needs and existing conditions. >> all right. so we have been aware of the situation for a long time, and we did indeed harden those target areas where the ballers are. we have patrol cars out there as a hard target as well as with barriers. now i want to share with y'all. if you did not know that this particular terrorist drove around onto the sidewalk and got around the hard, hard target where he did have a car there, we had barriers there. we had officers there, and they still got around. now the wedges that you see out there as well, we knew that that had malfunctioned. problems. and i want you to understand, let's say we put the wedge up and it got stuck. there is no way that

an ambulance could get in or out. people couldn't get in and out. so we knew that these were malfunction. so we did indeed have a plan. but the terrorist defeated it. >> yeah. >> let me just say this. we recognize we got a problem right here, right? we're going to fix it. it is going to be a top priority as we go into the super bowl and mardi gras. and the solution that we're going to come up with is going to be a permanent one. it's going to be placed into the standard operating procedure of having major events and securing that quarter. >> a follow up, if i may, obviously portable postpone till tomorrow, but i'm sure after that game a lot of people are going to want to celebrate. are there plans to keep bourbon street closed? what does that look like? >> so right now, bourbon street is an active crime scene and the fbi is in charge of it. when they clear it. and it does

not become an active crime scene anymore, we're going to open it up, potentially. >> potentially fox eight. >> um, can we ask about this military police presence that that you want to call it? is this a private security like blackwater? also, would that be a first that a private security firm is mobilized to supplement local and state law? >> no, no no no no we're not no, this is our national guard. these are our citizens that we bring it in. it's a military police company, um, that we recognize. we need some more resources. we need some more boots on the ground, because, again, what we're doing now is twofold. we've got an active investigation and we've got to enhance security. before this event, we were just enhancing and working on security. so we brought some additional resources. >> if jesse kirsch with nbc news, thank you for holding this press preview. i just want to clarify something. first. you were just talking about bollards that are being repaired. talk about a get a lift gate that are replaced and then a lift gate that's not

been working. was there a vehicle in place of that lift gate last night? was there were there things in place of those bollards which are being repaired? >> sure. >> the chief spoke to the plan in place and that is. >> yes. that was indeed and that is anything that is currently in the midst of being repaired, had a backup replacement. it had vehicles and officers were there where all of those bollards, ballasts have been. we had that we knew. so we did have it. and like i said, in this particular case, terrorists just went all the way around up onto the sidewalk and the lift gate. >> was there a vehicle like backing in and out to block that lift gate area, or was that just down in open? because that's what we've heard from the witness. >> captain. i'm the reason i'm calling the captain. he's the captain over that district, and that is a question i'm going to let him address for you. >> good evening everybody. i'm captain john roberts of the eighth district. yes, we did have a vehicle strategically placed right in front of the wedge, preventing access onto

the roadway. roadway. >> and in terms of the framework of security that was already in place on bourbon street. i know this is an ongoing project of improvement, but with how that was all aligned, was someone getting up on a sidewalk considered impossible or nearly impossible, or was this not something you expected you would have to account for? >> yeah, of course it wasn't something we expected to account for the bollards are there actually wedges there? strategically placed five locations throughout the french quarter on the roadway. this particular terrorist drove onto the sidewalk behind the police car to gain access to the 100 block of bourbon street. >> so if you're worried about someone ever driving down bourbon street, why weren't you worried about someone driving up the sidewalk in the same way? or at least bracing for it the same way? >> okay. yes. >> all right. look, we could go on what ifs forever. >> this is evil. and, um. and, um, that guy could have easily gone down

the sidewalk. a canal street where there were a ton of pedestrians on there as well. >> and there are. and there are. that's right, that's right, that's right. hold on a second. we got here. >> just want you to know, however, we recognize, i said earlier that where there are defects in this system, we are going to be transparent and we are going to address them with the city and make sure that we fill those gaps as best we can. yeah, yeah. >> um, chelsea brazil with axios. um, i have a question just about sort of ongoing public safety today. um, special agent mentioned to ied possible ieds. um, were those in the same location? should residents in the french quarter or elsewhere be concerned about potential other situations the two ieds that were in different locations, and what we've done in conjunction with our local and state partners, we've gone through and done a sweep to identify anything that

we thought was suspicious. >> and we have not. however, as i said before, if the public sees something, please reach out to us. that way we can go through and verify that we did not miss anything. but we conducted initial sweeps, i think starting shortly after our initial. >> call to thank you. i do want to share that we have a plan and we have been implementing that plan. one of those plans is that we have swept all of these areas. the word swept means we have put officers out there as a grid. walking down the streets, every street in the french quarter looking for suspicious packages, bags, ice chests, you name it. and they have been walking it as a grid. we've been doing the same thing on poydras and all the accesses into the superdome. part of the safety plan is we have bomb dogs out there sweeping the superdome and all the exterior area, and we're locking that

down. that will be locked down through the game tomorrow. so that's a part of that safety plan. and we've already been implementing it. >> okay. thank you all for coming out. question back here for the governor on the mps. >> how many mps will be deployed to new orleans right now? >> there's a i think it's a 100, 100, 100. and yeah. all right. thank you all so much. >> thank you. >> what gives you the confidence tomorrow night it'll be safe right? >> i'm going to be there. >> me too. you're all set? yeah, we're going to be there. we're going to be there. i know. >> all right. that was some kind of press conference that we were watching there out of new orleans following this attack, where a suspect drove through the french quarter and killed at least ten people overnight. here. officials and so many of them. it was really an extraordinary sight. and talking over each other. it sometimes bumping

into each other. there were some interesting dynamics at play. we're going to talk about that. we're going to talk though about what we learned, which is a lot of new information. i want to bring in our evan perez and our tom foreman, who are on set with us. we also have former boston police commissioner ed davis with us and former fbi agent breanna fox. just to touch on some of the headlines of what we saw, evan and i could see it on your face because that was an extraordinary press conference. >> i will say, from what we saw, it's very rare to see one like that. >> yeah, that and we'll talk about that in a second. but first we learned the identity, which we had reported before. this is a 42 year old texan, shamsud-din jabbar army veteran, honorably discharged. we learned from the fbi assistant special agent in charge there. but i think the big headline was we do not believe he was solely responsible. >> right. and she additionally said when she was asked for more questions, there were some more questions there. she also said that there were additional

suspects. so multiple suspects that are being investigated that are being looked at for possible involvement with this. and so the issue here now for the fbi is, you know, we haven't had an attack like this in some time where you have more than one person involved. usually we have, you know, you have lone wolf type of attacks. and one reason why they're frankly more common is because it's easier to carry something out when it's just you. you keep that thing. your plan to yourself. the minute you involve other people, there is the possibility that it could be found out by law enforcement. and so, you know, the extraordinary thing in there in that press conference, let's just pause for a second, is to have the assistant special agent in charge of the fbi having to go around a senator there who really was serving no, really no good purpose, no providing no really information for the purposes of this, of this press conference, in order to answer questions and to provide that

information. that is extraordinary. i think what you're seeing, though, is obviously a local local officials who are very, very defensive about some clear problems with the security of that evening. right. the idea that you could place a police vehicle in a position where someone could drive an f-150 around it, right? >> a huge truck around the canal street to get onto bourbon street and cause this level of destruction is. >> so it's a huge mess. but for the fbi's perspective, brianna, one of the important things is to figure out what signs there might have been here, including the radicalization. when did that happen? did the pentagon, anyone at the pentagon know about this? and all of these things are questions that the fbi is trying to run down, because there are so many vectors. >> the point, it seemed, of, uh, of elected officials, including senator john kennedy, republican and democratic congressman troy carter, they both were

promising to really hunt whoever is responsible down. um, this was obviously an informative press conference as well, but that created another vector to it, as you also had. tom. and i just want to be clear, you have ties to new orleans. you spent many years there. um, there's also this huge concern ahead of a big tourist event, which was supposed to be tonight. it's now being postponed tomorrow. we just learned the sugar bowl is being postponed tomorrow. there's also this huge concern about proceeding with that and that we saw that on display. >> absolutely, absolutely. and look, i mean, like you, the whole notion that they kept coming back with this incredulous look, i only drove on the sidewalk like, we've never heard of that. and that's happened in numerous attacks like this. people have been on the sidewalk. important to note the idea of using vehicles as weapons and terrorist attacks started steadily growing, really started picking up in like 2015, 2016 and just kept going all around the world. there's reason to worry about this. this is why they were replacing

the bollards, because they knew it was a threat and then fell short of it. yeah. you talk about the events coming up, sugar bowl tomorrow night now big crowd for that mardi gras actually begins next monday. that's the first parade. there will be mardi gras events from then until mardi gras, which is in early march this year. the super bowl is coming up in february. after all of that, there will be jazz fest. these things bring millions of people to this town, and they're very good at handling crowds. but what you saw today was they knew they had a problem. they all kept saying, well, we're going to fix it. but the question is, you knew this was happening. you knew it was happening. now when you took the bollards out, why was there not a more robust system to stop it? yeah. >> big concerns right now about whether their temporary fix to that clearly did not do what it needed to do. >> and i've been there i've been there in mardi gras when they have had those big like two ton trucks blocking roads that you could not drive around. yeah, i've seen that

because they've had, you know, they've had drunk drivers hit the crowds. >> but yeah, that's right. they've had those concerns before. this was a police vehicle they're describing. i want to bring in ed davis to talk about this. ed, what did you think of that press conference? both of what you learned and also the dynamics that were on display there hi, brianna. >> well, clearly the most important issue that came out of that was the fact that that there are coconspirators that they they've apparently identified or at least are on the tail of and and they were in the wind. they're still out there. so, um, that makes this a very chaotic situation. um, there is a propensity for public officials to say, everything's all right. we've got it under control. and maybe they do. maybe there's a team watching these guys right now, and they're and they're ready to move on them. but to say that you can do the bowl game tomorrow night, but you can't do it tonight is is really a

stretch. and and so this is this is as chaotic as it can get as far as the, the investigation, we really have to concentrate on rolling this group up and making sure that the city is safe with all of these upcoming events. and as far as the press conference, it was really chaotic. um, again, and, um, there were, you know, i mean, i realize that political figures will try to come in in these situations, and they should they should be able to speak. but to have dozens and dozens of people on on the ds standing behind that don't serve a purpose just adds to the lack of control. i give credit for the young officer who was attempting to to get the press corralled there, but it just wasn't going to happen in this situation. so they need to work. >> i mean, and in fairness to the press, i don't think it was the press wasn't the group that needed corralling. it was the group that we saw there

talking to the press, physically jostling as they were answering questions. there were so many of them up there. but so it's interesting because when you hear the governor say that, you know, new orleans or it's safer today than it was yesterday, but we are led to believe there's someone else out there, a coconspirator coconspirators plural, that have not been apprehended to our knowledge. how do you square those statements ahead of another huge tourist event scheduled in new orleans tomorrow? >> well, the problem is you, don't you? you really can't try to look on the bright side of this, right? the most important thing here is transparency and honesty. you can't give inside information on the investigation, but you can be honest with people about the fact that we might not know exactly where we are on this. people are much more resilient

and understanding. if you just put the truth out there and and that's that's the problem that i see. i really feel bad for the public officials. but they're kind of twisting in the wind and people are seeing right through it. >> yeah, a lot of information, some good information. but also, as you said, a lot of stuff that could be confusing and perhaps, perhaps give folks some pause ahead of what is still another big day in new orleans at a time when, quite frankly, the city is just reeling. so many local folks who have died in this and are still fighting for their lives in local hospitals, there. um, and if you could stay with us, evan and tom as well. thank you. we're going to continue to follow this breaking news. ahead sore throat. >> got your tongue? >> mucinex. instant sore throat, medicated drops uniquely formulated for rapid relief that lasts and lasts. that's my baby. try our new sugar free cough drop. insta

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