Biden meets with families of New Orleans attack victims

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden met Monday with families, survivors and local law enforcement affected by the New Year’s Eve attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured dozens others.

They met privately shortly before Biden arrived at St. Louis Cathedral, where he is scheduled to speak at an interfaith prayer service Monday evening.

Upon his arrival in New Orleans, Biden was greeted by Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat, and others, including special agent in charge of the investigation for the FBI, Lionel Myrthil, and the senator’s wife Bill Cassidy, R-La. , Laura Cassidy.

The Bidens stopped by Bourbon Street in the afternoon. Jill Biden laid flowers at a memorial honoring the victims, and they both stood quietly with their heads bowed.

The White House announced Monday that the Biden administration will allocate additional federal resources to support New Orleans’ preparations for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras after determining that the events “require extensive federal interagency support.”

“We will use all available tools to address local capacity gaps to ensure safe and secure events,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“Federal assistance could include explosive detection canine teams, cyber risk assessments, site control and field intelligence teams, as well as support for aviation security and tactical operations, in addition to the support already provided by state and local governments,” added Jean-Pierre.

Referring to the suspect, Biden said in a national address last week that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a Texas Army veteran who federal investigators identified as the attacker, had posted videos on social networks social media “indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill. »

Jabbar drove a rental van into crowds celebrating the dawn of the new year on Bourbon Street in the early hours of January 1. He was killed in a shootout with police shortly after the attack.