Defiant mourners march through Bourbon Street

New Orleans, Louisiana: It’s mid-afternoon in New Orleans – almost 36 hours after a terrorist attack turned one of America’s most festive cities into a chilling crime scene – and the famed French Quarter is slowly coming back to life.

On Bourbon Street, 14 yellow roses rest against a wall in honour of the victims whose mangled bodies had been lying nearby only a day earlier.

A woman places flowers at the scene of this week’s attack in New Orleans.Credit: AP

About one kilometre away, tens of thousands of fans attended the highly anticipated Sugar Bowl college football game, which had been rescheduled after this week’s carnage.

Amid heightened security and newly installed barricades, restaurants reopened their doors, live bands began performing again, and visitors trickled in, determined not to let fear confine them.

Drummer Darnel Alexander: “We have to move forward.”Credit: Farrah Tomazin

“What happened is a tragedy and so messed up, but you can’t really keep thinking about stuff that’s going to bring you down, you know what I’m saying?” said Darnel Alexander, a drummer in a brass band that regularly busks outside the Bourbon House restaurant.

“There’s a lot of evil things going on in the world, but we have to move forward.”

Evil did indeed take hold in New Orleans – a city often referred to as The Big Easy due to its southern charm, its penchant for revelry and its friendly locals.

Here, in the birthplace of jazz and the home of the world’s biggest Mardi Gras parade, life always feels less hectic, particularly in French Quarter: a cultural hub along the Mississippi River filled with historic houses, Creole-inspired restaurants and perpetually raucous clubs and bars.

But that sense of ease was shattered this week, when US army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar rammed his truck into revellers ringing in the New Year, “hell-bent” on killing people in the name of the Islamic State terrorist group.

Fourteen people died in the attack, including a former college football player, a loving father of two, and a woman on the cusp of becoming a nurse.

A Georgia football fan takes a photo of a memorial to victims of the Bourbon Street attack after the area reopened.Credit: AP

“It’s very sad,” said Dallas artist Roberto Marquez, who decided to come to New Orleans the night before to create an instalment of 14 giant crosses in honour of the victims.

“Attacks like this are probably never going to stop, but hopefully they diminish.”

Stacy Ward, general manager at Voodoo Chicken and Daiquiri on Bourbon Street, agreed.

“I left at 1am that night, but he was driving on this side of the street, and I’m so thankful our staff and customers were able to get out of the way,” she said.

Fans leave the Caesars Superdome with a large presence of security after the Sugar Bowl college football game.Credit: AP

The carnage on Bourbon Street shocked Americans as they woke up to the first day of 2025.

Their fear was compounded hours later when a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks and camp fuel canisters burst into flames and exploded outside the entrance of US President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel near the Las Vegas Strip.

For Australians, the New Year’s attack was reminiscent of the 2017 Bourke Street rampage, in which six people died and 27 were injured when James Gargasoulas drove a stolen car through Melbourne’s central business district intent on killing.

Artist Roberto Marquez, of Dallas, sets up a memorial of crosses along Canal Street.Credit: AP

But while the investigation into Jabbar continues, authorities insist the 42-year-old Texan was “100 per cent inspired by ISIS” and acting alone – despite the agency initially suggesting he might have been working with others.

Jabbar had joined the terrorist group last year and had also made a series of videos just before his attack – including one in which he declared he wanted to kill family and friends but was worried that news headlines wouldn’t focus enough on “believers and disbelievers”.

His attack plans also included the placement of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the neighbourhood in an apparent attempt to cause more carnage.

“This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated – and an evil act,” said FBI assistant director Christopher Raia.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released photos of surveillance footage of Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove a truck down Bourbon Street.Credit: AP

Authorities were not willing to take any chances when Bourbon Street reopened on Thursday. Military police vehicles and vans were used to block traffic; new bollards had been installed to prevent copycat attacks; and police helicopters regularly flew overhead.

Earlier, a private service honouring the victims was held by New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell and Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who were joined by local religious ministers to lay flowers and take a walk along the iconic strip. Afterwards, a brass second-line band danced down the street playing I’ll Fly Away in a soulful tribute.

By night, Bourbon Street almost felt like its former self as revellers, tourists and football fans roamed the strip while music blasted from clubs and bars.

“We feel so safe here,” said Tennessee resident Ashleigh Armstrong, who had come to town with a group of friends to celebrate her 40th birthday.

“It’s very sombre, but we’re just really happy that Bourbon Street has opened again.”

So too were the locals.

“What happened here is heartbreaking and horrible,” said Stacy Ward. “But with New Orleans, you can’t knock them down. They keep rollin’ with the punches.”

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.