In one of his final acts as “consoler in chief,” President Biden arrived in New Orleans on Monday to meet with the families of victims of the deadly terror attack that occurred on New Year’s Day.
The president, who was accompanied by the first lady, Jill Biden, will attend a prayer service on Monday evening hosted by the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
In the early hours of Jan. 1, a man sped a pickup truck through Bourbon Street, which was packed with partygoers who were inaugurating the new year. He killed 14 people and injured dozens more before he died in a shootout with police officers.
The authorities have identified the attacker as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen who they said was inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group. The F.B.I. has classified the attack as an act of terrorism and said he was believed to have acted alone.
Among the victims of the attack were a young mother who had just received a promotion at work, a teenager who had sneaked out to celebrate the new year, and a lifelong city resident who loved spending time on Bourbon Street, where the attack occurred.
The Biden administration has pledged extra security, including field intelligence teams and bomb-sniffing dogs, over the next few months in New Orleans as tourists arrive in the city for major events. Mardi Gras celebrations began on Monday and are scheduled to last through early March. New Orleans will also host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
Mr. Biden spoke about the attack in a televised address from Camp David on Thursday. “To all the families of those who were killed, to all those who were injured, to all the people in New Orleans who are grieving today, I want you to know I grieve with you,” he said. “Our nation grieves with you.”
Mr. Biden has frequently taken on the grim role of trying to comfort grieving communities after attacks or other disasters. In October, he visited states hit hard by Hurricane Helene’s devastating sweep through the Southeast.
This is his first trip to New Orleans in that capacity. The Bidens on Monday went directly from Air Force One to the presidential motorcade and did not take questions on the tarmac.
Mr. Biden last visited the city in August to announce funding for a cancer treatment project at Tulane University. (His son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015; his daughter Ashley graduated from Tulane.)
Other presidents have made similar visits to New Orleans after major disasters, continuing a long history in a city that has experienced more than its share of tragedy.
President George W. Bush traveled to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history, overwhelmed the city’s levees and drainage pumps in 2005, causing catastrophic flooding and killing more than 1,000 people.
His trip followed mounting criticism for his decision not to visit the devastated city immediately. A photograph of Mr. Bush looking out the window of Air Force One as it flew over the city without stopping on his way to Washington from Texas became a defining image of his presidency.
President Barack Obama visited New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana affected by the most damaging oil spill in American history, the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig in 2010, which released more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Biden’s visit on Monday falls on the anniversary of the 2021 attack on the Capitol by an angry mob seeking to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Mr. Biden has taken note of the anniversary each year, most recently calling it “day that we nearly lost America.”
While Mr. Biden is in New Orleans on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, will oversee the counting and certification of the 2024 election. The Capitol Police have stepped up security for the event, closing roads and increasing patrols around the Capitol grounds.
Monday is also Twelfth Night, the start of Carnival season in New Orleans. The night is traditionally celebrated with parades and king cake. The New Orleans Police Department has announced increased security in response to the Jan. 1 attack.
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