NEW ORLEANS — Police cars are lined up in the narrow streets. Officers toting large firearms stand at alert. Barriers block many entrances to Bourbon Street.
Behind two squad cars parked horizontally in front of a large truck that blocks the entrance to New Orleans’ famed street, a memorial greets visitors.
Flowers, candles, notes and 14 white crosses with blue hearts honor the victims of a Jan. 1 terrorist attack on Bourbon Street, where an Islamic State-inspired attacker drove a truck down the busy street. The tragic incident has come back into focus one month later as security is ratcheting back up with New Orleans hosting Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9.
With an estimated 100,000 visitors expected to flock to the city, organizers currently “have no specific credible threats to this event,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday at a news conference.
Visitors will be with “a sea of blue,” Anne Kirkpatrick, the superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department said.
There will be 2,000 law enforcement officers on duty around the city, along with 200 state troopers and 350 national guard troops who will patrol areas around the French Quarter, near the convention center, the Superdome and other locations.
“I am confident that the safest place to be this weekend,” NFL chief security officer Cathy Lanier said, “will be the areas under the security umbrella this team has put together.”
The security framework was developed over the previous two years with input from the local, state and federal levels. Lanier said the team “reviewed and re-reviewed” its plan after the tragic event in which at least 35 other people were injured in addition to the 14 victims and the attacker was killed in a shootout with police.
Louisiana governor Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency after the attack and issued an executive order last week to increase security approaching Super Bowl festivities.
Part of the French Quarter was designated as an enhanced security zone from Feb. 5-10, where “any destructive, explosive materials,” backpack coolers and ice chests are prohibited and any bags larger than a clutch handbag are discouraged and subject to search.
Almost all vehicles are prohibited from entering the enhanced security zone that encompasses about 14 blocks of the popular area packed with bars, restaurants, shops and vendors where busking musicians play jazz tunes on horns.
However, visitors are permitted to carry concealed weapons in the enhanced security zone under Louisiana state law. Many store windows in the French Quarter have large “no firearms” stickers. Concealed weapons are prohibited in bars, casinos, government buildings and venues including the Superdome.
“We went through great lengths through the executive order that we put together to balance the freedoms and constitutional rights that are enshrined in this state while making sure we have enough security to make sure we are able to protect our citizens,” Landry said Monday.
The city is hosting its 11th Super Bowl, tied for the most for any site, and has experience with the game at its highest stakes.
New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl in 2002, the first after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. An overhauled security plan was so tight that Paul McCartney, who was performing before the game, was held outside the stadium until authorities got additional permission to let the musical icon enter.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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