New Orleans police force’s tough-on-crime transformation saved lives in New Year terror attack, says ex-city prosecutor

A further 35 were injured in the terror attack, believed to be inspired by the ISIS terror group, which Jabbar had pledged allegiance to earlier this year.

New Orleans is also hosting a number of mass events in the next few weeks, including the Sugar Bowl college football playoff, the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, and Essence Festival.

Jabbar is believed to have acted alone after authorities earlier said they were hunting for suspected accomplices.

He also pointed to the stepped-up “hardening measures” designed to block major thoroughfares as pedestrians walk to the stadium, just minutes from the French Quarter.

NEW Orleans police’s transformation in recent years helped prevent further bloodshed in Wednesday morning’s horror terror attack, a former assistant district attorney has claimed.

He lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and rented the Cybertruck through Turo, the same vehicle-sharing app used to rent the pickup truck used in the New Orleans attack.

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“The police officers received notice, one person pointed their finger, and the entire group of officers immediately ran towards the scene of the crime.

DAYS OF TERROR

2025 has begun with a series of shocking incidents in the US sparking terror across the country.

The driver has been named as 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger, a US Army Green Beret who served at the same military base as Jabbar.

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“But it just doesn’t feel right yet.”

Video from Wednesday morning shows officers running directly towards the site of the terror attack on Canal and Bourbon Street, after receiving a notification.

Goyeneche, who served as Assistant District Attorney in Orleans Parish between 1980 and 1986, believes that the police’s quick actions saved many lives that night.

Rafael Goyeneche, a Louisiana native and president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission (MCC), works opposite the Ceasars Superdome, just minutes from the French Quarter, where 14 people were killed in the early hours of 2025.

It comes as DC plans to host several major events in the coming days, including the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter and the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

The suspected driver, Shamsud Din Jabbar, killed 14 people when he purposely drove into pedestrians in the French Quarter, before being killed himself in a firefight with police.

Jabbar was able to drive around the obstacle and start his murderous rampage.

But on New Year’s Eve, the barriers were under repair, and a police vehicle was instead left at the entrance.

But in the wake of the horror, cops have been praised for their bravery as they rushed to the scene to take down Jabbar.

Just three hours into the New Year, a driver deliberately plowed a pickup truck through crowds of revelers in New Orleans.

Later on Wednesday, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

But increased law enforcement was in place around the Caesar’s Superdome, where the postponed Sugar Bowl college football playoff was taking place.

On Thursday, January 2, there was a major lockdown around the US Capitol after a vehicle was spotted driving erratically on the sidewalk.

However, at this point, the FBI says there is no confirmed link between Livelsberger and Jabbar.

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