US President Joe Biden will travel to New Orleans next week to meet the families of victims of a deadly truck-ramming attack that killed 14 people, the White House announced Friday.
On Monday, the president and his wife Jill “will grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack on January 1 and meet with officials on the ground,” the White House said in a statement.
The southern city was sent into a panic on New Year’s Day when a US army veteran, who the FBI says pledged loyalty to the Islamic State jihadist group, used a pickup truck to kill and wound revelers in the crowded French Quarter entertainment district.
The bloodshed only ended when the suspect was killed by police in an exchange of gunfire.
He had also planted two homemade bombs in the city, authorities said, though they did not go off.
The New Orleans attack coincided with a high-profile incident in Las Vegas a few hours later where a Tesla Cybertruck blew up outside the Trump International Hotel.
Police say the Tesla’s driver — the only fatality — was an off-duty US special forces soldier.
No motive has been determined and authorities say there appears to be no link with the bloodshed in New Orleans.
AFP
