New Orleans Councilmember Updates On Bourbon Street Barrier Repairs

The FBI investigates the area on Orleans St and Bourbon Street by St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter where a suspicious package was detonated after a person drove a truck into a crowd earlier o

New Orleans City Councilmember Jean-Paul Morrell revealed on Wednesday that the barriers on Bourbon Street were in the process of being repaired when the recent incident occurred. Despite efforts to fix and replace the barriers, the suspect managed to evade them by driving over the sidewalk, bypassing the area where repairs were underway. Morrell explained that even if the bollard barriers had been in place, the suspect's maneuver of riding on the sidewalk would have rendered them ineffective.

Suspect evaded barriers by driving over sidewalk.

Barriers on Bourbon Street being repaired when incident occurred.

Even if barriers were in place, suspect's maneuver would have rendered them ineffective.

Additionally, Morrell disclosed that the suspect had been staying in an Airbnb before carrying out the attack. The vehicle used in the incident had been rented from a non-traditional rental site. It was reported that the individual had been lodging in an Airbnb before executing the attack during the New Year's celebrations on Bourbon Street.