KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Just in time for the Sugar Bowl, the FBI has determined the New Orleans attacker acted alone.
The driver in the New Orleans New Year’s Day terror attack also planted two “functional” improvised explosive devices near the incident site, according to the FBI and two senior U.S. law enforcement officials.
Kansas City couple Courtney Harrison and Tom Nelson brought in the new year on Bourbon Street, unaware of what would happen hours later.
“It was really great; it was great energy,” said Courtney Harrison.
They say they had a beautiful night New Year’s Eve, filled with dancing in the street and experiencing the New Orleans culture. They had returned to their hotel just two hours before the attack.
“Just a lot of positive energy and optimism in the air,” said Nelson. “And so that is what led to the confusion when we looked at our phones the next day and saw that we had missed something significant.”
The couple woke up to dozens of missed calls from loved ones, quickly realizing what had happened. Their hotel was just two blocks from where the incident transpired. When they finally made it out New Year’s Day, they say the city had made a complete 180.
“The opposite of what we had experienced that night,” said Nelson. “Calm, somber, a lot of police, a lot of police cars. Everywhere police cars, a lot of barriers, a lot of guards posted. Stopping cars, stopping pedestrians, everything was blocked off.”
The pair attended the Sugar Bowl on Thursday. With this being determined to be an isolated event, they say they feel safer. A moment of silence about 20 seconds long kicked off the Sugar Bowl today in New Orleans.
“The military’s here now, so the National Guard, I assume it’s the National Guard have joined the police to block all of the streets,” said Harrison.
Daniel Brunner is a former FBI special agent. He says there is still a lot to be seen in the coming days.
“Find out where we failed,” said Brunner. “Where, was it the sidewalks, was it the barriers, why? Did we miss intelligence, was this individual known to us, so there’s a lot of questions yet to be had.”
For Tom and Courtney, their lives are forever changed.
“Going to make me look over my shoulders, know where the barriers are, hesitate walking in the street,” Harrison said. “It’s something you can’t not think about anymore, you don’t have the luxury anymore.”
The couple will return to KC on Friday.
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KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories providing solutions and offering discussions on topics of crime and violence. Share your story idea with La’Nita.
