NEW ORLEANS, La. — What was supposed to be a night of celebration turned into a night of terror after a man drove a pickup truck around a barricade in New Orleans and drove head-on into the crowd celebrating New Years Eve along Bourbon Steet early Wednesday morning.
Police confirmed that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 24, of Texas, killed at least 15 people and injured dozens of others when he drove into the crowd.
Jabbar was killed by police after he got out of the truck and opened fire on responding officers, police said. Three officers returned fire. Two were shot and are in stable condition.
Among the people who heard the gunfire was University of Georgia Head Golf Coach Chris Hack. He was among many Georgia fans who are in New Orleans to see UGA take on Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, which has now been postponed until Thursday.
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“We were actually kind of lucky. We ended up taking a detour and going down Royal Street instead of Bourbon Street because we had a hard set on stopping at Krystal, and didn’t do it, but, but shortly after that, as soon as we walked across the street to our hotel room, we heard the gunshots and everything going on, and it was pretty scary,” Hack told Channel 2 Sports Director Zach Klein who was in New Orleans to cover the game.
Hack said it wasn’t until much later that they realized what had happened.
“My wife got on the phone trying to call to find out if anything was going on. But this morning, we woke up pretty early. A lot of people calling us, going, ‘Hey, y’all OK?’ And we quickly turned on the news and found out how bad it really was, and it’s just awful,” Hack said.
“What’s been the mood like at the team hotel?” Klein asked Hack.
“I think it’s pretty somber. I mean, you know, everybody’s fired up about sports and football and all that kind of stuff, and something like this happens, reality kicks in, and you kind of start realizing, you know, people lost their lives, and it’s just sad that we have to live in a world like this now, and just hopefully, at some point, those type of things will change,” Hack said.
Among those injured is a student from UGA. That student was critically injured in the attack.
Hack told Klein that the football has been sheltering in place inside the team hotel, using the ballrooms to have walk-throughs and go over plans as they get ready for the game, which is now scheduled for 4 p.m.
The winner of that game between Georgia and Notre Dame will head to the Orange Bowl.
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