NEW ORLEANS — Kim Alexander sat in the middle of the half-filled sanctuary as music and prayer filled the room. While Bishop Lester Love spoke of healing and hope at the pulpit, Alexander didn’t seem convinced the city will be safer after a car rampage killed 14 New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street.
“There’s too many unattended areas in the French Quarter, there’s too many unattended areas in the city,” the 60-year-old New Orleans resident told NBC News after the service. She said she thinks more officers should be hired.
She wasn’t alone in her worries. Hundreds of New Orleanians gathered at the City of Love Church on Saturday morning to seek solace and understanding in the wake of the attack. With hands raised and tears rolling down their faces, attendees sang, shouted and prayed — not just for the victims, but for the attacker, the city and a safer future.
The attacker, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran from Texas, drove a rented truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street in the early hours of New Year’s Day. Authorities said he posted videos online during his journey to New Orleans in which he professed his support for ISIS. After plowing through the crowd, Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police.
The mood at the morning prayer service oscillated between grief and determination. Police officers stood alongside grieving members of the New Orleans community.
“Even though we’re going through it, things will get better,” Love told the congregation. “The city is hurting, but it is also resilient.”
As the city prepares for the Super Bowl next month and Mardi Gras in March, law enforcement and local officials vowed to reinforce safety measures.
After the prayer service, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the city will remain vigilant about keeping residents and tourists safe in the months ahead, but she couldn’t rule out another mass killing.
“On any given day, anybody can do something,” Hutson said, adding that law enforcement will be well prepared to respond. “If somebody wants to do something, they’re going to figure out how.”
Still, the tragedy has left some questioning whether New Orleans is ready for hundreds of thousands of visitors in the coming months. In addition to the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is in April, and the annual event draws around 400,000 people each year, according to its website.
Some are relying on faith to persevere. “I have faith that God is ordering my steps,” said service attendee Tishawn Francis, 45.
Will Holmes, 44, is optimistic, he said, because New Orleans is equipped to handle these events.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who attended the service, reiterated her commitment to support the victims and their families. In addition to the 14 who were killed, dozens were injured, with many still in area hospitals.
Former Police Superintendent Michael Harrison praised law enforcement’s swift response, noting that the tragedy could have been even worse.
Harrison said the attacker could have used his gun instead of the truck, because “he was going to kill no matter what.”
