NEW ORLEANS (AP) — President Joe Biden told mourners in New Orleans on Monday that they are not alone as he paid tribute to victims of the deadly New Year’s attack and channeled the pain felt by their loved ones.
Biden made the remarks at St. Louis Cathedral in the city's historic French Quarter. not far from the area where an Army veteran drove a truck into revelers last week, killing 14 and injuring 30 more.
Biden praised “so many that ran toward the chaos, trying to help save others," including first responders. He noted the city's enduring strength and resilience amid tragedy, invoking past devastation like Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“The city’s people get back up," Biden said. "That’s the spirit of America as well.”
Biden met privately with grieving families, survivors and first responders before the prayer service. He also stopped at a makeshift memorial where the attack had begun to unfold. It is being investigated as an act of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State group.
Biden has made dozens of visits to sites of violence, natural disaster and other calamities during his four years in office. With two weeks left, Monday's visit to New Orleans could be his last such trip.
In his remarks Monday, Biden alluded to the personal loss in his own life and recounted words of collective grief he’s delivered time and again as president. He acknowledged the searing loss the grieving families will feel at holidays and birthdays to come, along with the small details they will miss about their loved ones.
“We know what it’s like to lose a piece of our soul. The anger. The emptiness,” he said.
He told the grieving families that they will eventually reach a day when the memory of their loved ones will make them smile before it makes them cry.
“It will take time, but I promise you, it will come. I promise you," he said.
Before he met privately with the victims’ families, Biden and first lady Jill Biden made their first stop in the city at a memorial that sprung up on Bourbon Street at the spot where the attack started.
Flowers and messages were left at the bases of the crosses erected on the sidewalk. After Jill Biden placed white flowers at the memorial, she and the president stood in silence and bowed their heads.
At the public prayer service at the cathedral, a rendition of “Amazing Grace” was performed with a New Orleans jazz spin. The Bidens placed a candle at the altar. The president then returned to his seat in front pew, shutting his eyes tight in prayer.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Louisiana that Biden "believes this is also an important part of the job that he believes he needs to do as president.”
It's a grim task that presidents perform, though not every leader has embraced the role with such intimacy as the 82-year-old Biden, who has experienced a lot of personal tragedy in his own life. His first wife and baby daughter died in a car accident in the early 1970s, and his elder son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015.
“I've been there. There’s nothing you can really say to somebody that’s just had such a tragic loss," Biden told reporters Sunday in a preview of his visit. "My message is going to be personal if I get to get them alone.”
Biden often takes the opportunity at such bleak occasions to speak behind closed doors with the families, offer up his personal phone number in case people want to talk later on and talk about grief in stark, personal terms.
The Democratic president will continue on to California following his stop in New Orleans. With a snowstorm hitting the Washington region on Monday, Biden's trip began with Air Force One starting its takeoff from inside a large hangar instead of on the tarmac as thick snow covered the ground at Joint Base Andrews and snowplows worked to clear the runway.
In New Orleans on Jan. 1, the driver plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who steered his speeding truck around a barricade and plowed into the crowd, later was fatally shot in a firefight with police.
Jabbar, an American citizen from Texas, had posted five videos on his Facebook account in the hours before the attack in which he proclaimed his support for the Islamic State militant group and previewed the violence that he would soon unleash in the French Quarter.
Biden on Sunday pushed back against conspiracy theories surrounding the attack, and he urged New Orleans residents to ignore them.
“I spent literally 17, 18 hours with the intelligence community from the time this happened to establish exactly what happened, to establish beyond any reasonable doubt that New Orleans was the act of a single man who acted alone,” he said. “All this talk about conspiracies with other people, there’s not evidence of that — zero.”
The youngest victim was 18 years old, and the oldest was 63. Most victims were in their 20s. They came from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey and Great Britain.
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican, was asked on “Fox News Sunday” what the city was hoping for from Biden's visit.
“How can we not feel for both the families of those who die but also those who’ve been injured in their families?” he asked.
“The best thing that the city, the state, and the federal government can do is do their best to make sure that this does not happen again. And what we can do as a people is to make sure that we don’t live our lives in fear or in terror — but live our lives bravely and with liberty, and then support those families however they need support.”
Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden was directing additional resources to help New Orleans with major upcoming events, including Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl, with both events being assigned the highest level of federal support for security measures.
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Price reported from New York. Associated Press writers Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill ordered on Monday an investigation into safety and security deficiencies in New Orleans, where an Army veteran sped around a police blockade and raced down Bourbon Street, killing 14 New Year's revelers.
“The People of Louisiana deserve answers,” Murrill said in a statement. “We are committed to getting a full and complete picture of what was done or not done, and more importantly, what needs to change so we can prevent this from ever happening again.”
President Joe Biden visited New Orleans Monday to meet with the families of those killed and first responders. He also directed additional resources to help New Orleans with major upcoming events, including Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl. Both have been upgraded and given the special event assessment rating of one, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
“The Biden-Harris administration has determined that these significant events require extensive federal interagency support, and we will use every tool available to fill local capability shortfalls to assure safe and secure events,” she told reporters traveling with Biden to New Orleans.
The attack last week was carried out by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a former U.S. Army soldier who had proclaimed his support for the Islamic State militant group. He was killed in a firefight with police.
The steel columns known as bollards that had previously been installed to restrict vehicle access to Bourbon Street were in the process of being replaced ahead of the Super Bowl, which New Orleans will host on Feb. 9.
Murrill said she directed the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation to conduct a “full review” of security plans for New Year’s Eve and the Sugar Bowl. The probe should “explore all aspects of the planning for and execution of security measures” for Jan. 1. That would include existing security assessments and recommendations; funding sources and the use of state, federal, and local funding for security measures; assets and allocations; operational failures; and state, local and federal coordination.
The New Orleans Chief of Police, District Attorney, Inspector General and City Council members have “pledged complete support and cooperation with this review," Murrill said.
“It’s my hope that our findings will help provide our law enforcement officers and the City of New Orleans with the tools and insight they need to best ensure the safety of the community and our many visitors,” Murrill said.
The additional federal assistance offered by Biden could include explosive detection, K-9 teams, and cyber risk assessments, screening of venues and field intelligence teams, and air security and tactical operations support.
“There’s no higher priority to the president than the safety and security of the American people,” Jean-Pierre said. “We will continue to ensure we do everything possible to get to the bottom of this horrific event, while also ensuring that this community has the resources they need in the wake of this tragedy.”