On Monday, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met with local law enforcement, survivors, and families who were impacted by the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans that left 14 people dead and several others injured.
Shortly before the president arrived at St. Louis Cathedral, where he will make remarks at an interfaith prayer service on Monday night, the secret meeting took place.
Biden was welcomed to New Orleans by Democratic Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other officials, including FBI special agent Lionel Myrthil, who was in charge of the investigation, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and his wife, Laura Cassidy.
In the afternoon, the president and first lady made a visit to Bourbon Street. At a memorial service for the victims, Jill Biden placed flowers, and both of them stood silently with their heads down.
The Biden administration will provide more federal funding to help New Orleans prepare for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, the White House said Monday, after concluding that the activities “require extensive federal inter agency support.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, “We will use every tool available to fill local capability shortfalls to assure safe and secure events.”
In addition to the help being given by state and local governments, federal aid might include cyber risk assessments, venue screening, field intelligence teams, bomb detection canine teams, air security, and tactical operation support,” Jean-Pierre continued.
During a national address last week, Biden mentioned the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas Army veteran who was identified as the attacker by federal authorities, had shared videos on social media expressing a desire to kill and claiming he was inspired by ISIS.
Early on January 1, Jabbar crashed a rental pickup truck into people on Bourbon Street who were enjoying the start of a new year. Shortly after the attack, he was shot and killed by police.
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