Chicago expected to review security after New Year's truck attack in New Orleans
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A New Year's morning pickup truck attack that left at least 15 people dead on Bourbon Street in New Orleans has Chicago and other cities around the country on high alert.
Part of the heightened security in Chicago is looking at how the attacker used his vehicle to veer around a police squad car blocking the street and go on to run over people standing on the sidewalks.
Chicago, of course, hosts its fair share of large events of its own—notably including the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 2024, where safety and security were in the spotlight. And on New Year's Eve just Tuesday night in Chicago, thousands of people lined the city's Riverwalk to welcome in the New Year.
In light of what happened hours later on New Orleans, the plan of action for New Year's Eve in Chicago—while successful—is being further examined.
"We might have been ready last night, but we didn't have sand trucks blocking the Riverwalk and so on and so forth like they do on New Year's Eve in Times Square," said former Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy, comparing Chicago's event to the one in New York City, which went off with no trouble except for some rain.
Over the phone, McCarthy said the deadly attack on Bourbon Street—and specifically the way a pickup truck was used to carry it out—has police departments reviewing their measures.
"At any time, on any day, this can happen—quite frankly," McCarthy said.
Retired Chicago Police First Deputy Supt. Anthony Riccio said Chicago said the city is going out of its way to make sure it doesn't.
"You can be sure that the Chicago Police Department is reviewing what happened in New Orleans, and they're taking precautions to make sure
that that doesn't happen here—and doing everything that they possibly can," Riccio said.
Riccio said Chicago does a lot of things right as it is. He pointed out the measures taken during Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza this past holiday season.
"I was looking over the security there, and they had concrete barriers all around it. That's what you need," he said. "You can't just go, like New Orleans had squad cars kind of curb to curb. It's easy to get around those."
New Orleans police Supt. Anne Kirkpatrick admitted Wednesday that her department's security plan failed.
"We did have a car there. We had barriers there. We had officers there," she said, "and they still got around."
Security expert Phil Andrew, who has decades of experience with the FBI, also expressed concerns about the lack of protective barriers—such as bollards.
"They have regular huge crowds, so their everyday preparations are significant and more than many places you would expect for large crowds," Andrew said, "but something did happen here, and we always have to do a full review to figure out what vulnerability was exploited."
Whatever the case, Riccio said both New Orleans and every other major city and law enforcement agency has to learn from what happened.
"Now we have to learn from it and make sure we never repeat it," said Riccio, "whether it's in New Orleans, or here in Chicago, New York—any place where there's large crowds—they have to know."
"I think departments across the country every once in a while need a wake-up call to say hey, this is still going on—let's pay attention," added McCarthy, "and I think they will be doing that."
In the New Orleans attack, at least 15 people were killed and dozens were injured when authorities said Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, intentionally drove a pickup truck into the crowd.
A black ISIS flag was flying from the truck's rear bumper, and the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
In televised remarks Wednesday evening, President Biden said the FBI has determined that just hours before the attack, Jabbar—a U.S. citizen from Texas—"posted videos to social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill."
FBI special agent Alethea Duncan said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon that investigators "do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible" for the attack, and the FBI believes he may have had help carrying it out.
