He College Football Playoffs The quarterfinal game between No. 2 Georgia and No. 5 Notre Dame is underway in New Orleans more than a day after a deadly terrorist attack on Bourbon Street claimed the lives of at least 15 people and injured dozens more. .
Crews arrived at the Caesars Superdome, just a mile away from the French Quarter crime scene, for the Sugar Bowl on Thursday with increased security after the FBI said a driver of a Ford pickup truck plowed into a crowd of people in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in what is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
FBI personnel arrive at the Caesars Superdome before the NCAA Sugar Bowl college football playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Law enforcement officials have stepped up security measures for Thursday. Sugar bowl after organizers made the decision to postpone the bowl game until Thursday in the interest of public safety.
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New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said in an interview with “TODAY” on Thursday that fans attending the game can expect to see as much security “if not more” than what was expected to be present at the Super Bowl next month.
“We are associated with many other partners,” said Kirkpatrick, via ESPN. “Both local police and federal and military, etc., will be here, so we will have absolutely hundreds of officers and personnel lining our streets, on Bourbon Street, in the French Quarter. So, we are staffing .at the same level, if not more, than what we were preparing for [the] Super Bowl.”
The Superdome, home of the new orleans saints, will host the championship game on February 9. The city has been working for years on an infrastructure package that will increase security in anticipation of the thousands of fans coming to the city next month.
Security and bomb-sniffing dogs check vehicles as they enter the Superdome parking lot before the NCAA Sugar Bowl college football playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
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Local law enforcement, FBI personnel and trained canines have been deployed to the stadium as a precaution.
Authorities confirmed at a news conference Thursday that the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was working alone on the attack.
The FBI found a possible improvised explosive device (IED), weapons and an ISIS flag in Jabbar’s vehicle after he was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials found and recovered other possible improvised explosive devices.
The Sugar Bowl was initially scheduled for 8:45 p.m. ET, but was delayed to start earlier Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.
Notre Dame players run on the field before a College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Georgia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
“Public safety is paramount,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said at a news conference Wednesday. “All parties agree that postponing the game is in the best interest of everyone and public safety.”
