Bourbon Street terror victims sue New Orleans as Louisiana AG investigates security lapses

Dozens of victims of the New Year's terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans are filing lawsuits against the city and its police department.

Terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas killed 14 civilians and injured dozens of others when he rammed a Ford-150 through crowds of people celebrating New Year's on the famous New Orleans street around 3 a.m. Jan. 1. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police.

One lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of seven victims by Morris Bart, LLC takes aim at the City of New Orleans, Hard Rock Construction and engineering firm Mott MacDonald, LLC, alleging they were negligent in providing security measures that could have prevented the tragedy. 

"We have done an extensive investigation and believe that the three defendants we have named in the lawsuit could have — and should have — taken steps to prevent this tragedy," Morris Bart said in a statement. "Our hope is that, through this lawsuit, we can help prevent future tragedies."

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The lawsuit says the defendants "had years of opportunities to fix this known problem," and "[c]ity contractors failed to live up to contractual obligations and perform work in the order and manner specified."

"One scenario presented by Mott MacDonald eight months before this tragedy even involved a Ford F-150 truck specifically turning right on to Bourbon Street from Canal Street, a shockingly similar threat that was seemingly predictable before December 31."

— Morris Bart lawsuit

The complaint concludes that had "Mott MacDonald competently provided engineering services to the City that accounted for known threats, Mr. Jabbar's access to Bourbon Street would have been prevented entirely."

A second lawsuit is expected to be filed against the City of New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department on behalf of at least two dozen victims.

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Maples Connick, LLC, a New Orleans law firm, has launched a civil investigation into the attack and is partnering with Chicago-based mass disaster law firm Romanucci & Blandin, which has represented victims in multiple recent mass casualty events and attacks.

"Residents and visitors trusted New Orleans officials to ensure their safety, and it is deeply troubling to have preliminary information that municipal leaders were clearly aware of the vulnerability of Bourbon Street to the predictable and preventable events that ultimately occurred on Jan. 1," Romanucci & Blandin Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci said in a statement. 

"The violation of public trust is disturbing, and we are fiercely committed to seeking accountability in this case."

Maples Connick Partner Aaron Maples said "[t]here must be accountability for leaving those people vulnerable to that harm and trauma."

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The City of New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department do not comment on pending litigation.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is conducting her own independent review of potential security lapses that may have led to the Bourbon Street attack, telling Fox News Digital her investigation is still in the "very early stages."

"These are regular events in the city," Murrill said, noting New Year's Eve, the Sugar Bowl, Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl are all part of the city's recent event planning. "So, I think that I want to understand what the pressures are and who the different players are so that we can figure out how to make sure that we have infrastructure that is functional and that is adequate and rises to the level of the threats that this city faces."

Murrill described New Orleans as a "joyful city" where there are "always a lot of activities bringing thousands of people together in the streets for parades" and other festivities.

"There are different aspects to this process that are going to ultimately inform how we make permanent change."

— AG Liz Murrill

"The city's going to just have to grow, I think, in its concept of itself," Murrill said.

On New Year's Eve, bollards on Bourbon Street were in the process of being replaced, a procedure that began Nov. 19, according to the city's website. 

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While the replacement process was ongoing, officials installed a temporary barrier where Bourbon Street meets Canal Street, presumably to prevent suspicious vehicles from driving down the busy tourist area. However, according to local business owners and employees who previously spoke with Fox News Digital, that temporary barrier was set down instead of up, allowing vehicles to pass on the holiday.

Official recommendations for New Orleans security measures in the French Quarter, as part of a $2.3 billion infrastructure project that began in 2017, included the installment of new bollards on Bourbon Street to prevent mass casualty events the FBI identified as a potential threat in the popular tourist area.

The city began planning updated security measures, including bollards meant to stop vehicles from entering busy streets in the French Quarter, around that time.

"The French Quarter is often densely packed with pedestrians and represents an area where a mass casualty incident could occur," a 2017 report states. "This area also presents a risk and target area for terrorism that the FBI has identified as a concern that the City must address. 

"Following the attacks in Nice, France; in London, England; and the recent NYC Times Square incident that cited bollards saved lives, it has become clear how popular tourist areas can be threatened by attackers with vehicles and weapons."

A separate, confidential 2019 report obtained by Fox News from security consulting firm Interfor International, warned Bourbon Street was the "most high-profile target" in New Orleans for a terror attack. The 60-page security assessment commissioned by the French Quarter Management District states bluntly, "The current bollard system on Bourbon Street does not appear to work." 

Multiple security experts have told Fox News' Garrett Tenney the current bollard system, even if in place, would not have been strong enough to stop Jabbar’s attack because of the low crash ratings of the system being installed and the size and high speeds the F-150 truck reached. 

Interfor International said in its 2019 report that it "strongly recommends bollard mobilization to be fixed/improved immediately."

Sources told Fox News Interfor International never heard anything back from the city after the report was submitted, even though there is almost always some kind of follow-up after a report like this.

Murrill told Fox News Digital she is aware of the 2019 report and planned to get a copy as part of her review.

She said there are questions for multiple public departments who may have been involved in security planning in the French Quarter on New Year's Eve.

"What role did they play? I don't know the answer to all these questions yet. I think that … there's a lot of reporting that is happening," she said. "It's pulling up a lot of different information. But, at the state level, we need to pull it all together and look at this from a perspective of security management, disaster planning … that integrates with preexisting state and local and federal management structure."

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The FBI continues to investigate the attack and said Jabbar was motivated by ISIS extremism.

Federal authorities announced last week that Jabbar had previously visited New Orleans on two occasions — once on Oct. 30, 2024, and once on Nov. 10, 2024. The attacker also visited Cairo, Egypt, and Toronto, Canada, prior to the attack, the FBI said.

While Jabbar apparently acted alone, authorities are still investigating whether he had any accomplices.