As the New Year approaches, we would like to take a moment to remember the lives lost in the early morning hours of 2025, when a truck driven by a terrorist rammed through a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street. It was the worst terror attack our state has ever seen, and the shock and grief we felt then in many ways still seems fresh.
We recognize the law enforcement officers and first responders who rushed to render aid. We are proud that federal, state and local officials united quickly to find answers and look for ways to protect us in the future. We were dismayed to learn of the apparent failures that left such an iconic pedestrian area vulnerable to a vehicle attack. We are glad that a plan now seems to be moving forward to place permanent barriers on Bourbon Street, so that something like this can never happen again.
But we know that these improvements offer little consolation to the families who lost loved ones to such a heinous act. We watched throughout the year as they remembered and poignantly honored the lives of those who died on New Year’s Day…