美国总统乔·拜登周三表示，他之前所说的“可怕”袭击是“没有正当理由的”新年在新奥尔良，指出美国联邦调查局正在将其作为恐怖主义行为进行调查。
拜登在一份书面声明中说:“从今天早上开始，联邦执法领导层和我的国土安全团队不断向我通报，包括国土安全部长阿里·马约卡斯、副总检察长丽莎·摩纳哥、白宫国土安全顾问利兹·舍伍德-兰德尔和新奥尔良市长，内容涉及昨晚发生的可怕事件。”
当局称，一辆汽车撞向聚集在波旁街的人群，造成至少15人死亡，25人受伤。
警方称，周三清晨，司机在街上以极快的速度驾车，一心想要造成损害。司机随后携带攻击性武器下车，被警察开枪打死。
拜登说:“我感谢当地执法部门勇敢而迅速的反应，防止了更大的伤亡。”。“我已经指示我的团队确保联邦、州和地方执法部门竭尽全力，尽可能快地查明真相，并确保没有任何形式的剩余威胁。”
“我将全天继续收到更新，当我们有进一步的信息分享时，我会有更多的话要说。与此同时，我对受害者和他们的家人深表同情，他们只是想庆祝节日，”总统在声明中补充道。“任何形式的暴力都没有正当理由，我们不会容忍对我们国家任何社区的任何攻击。”
拜登在离开特拉华州前往戴维营时简要谈到了袭击事件，但他拒绝就记者提出的有关嫌疑人身份的具体问题发表评论。
“我已经联系了联邦政府和州政府的所有机构。他们都在协调行动，以获得最基本的事实，”他说。
嫌疑犯后来被确认据美国联邦调查局报道，他名叫沙姆苏德·丁·贾巴尔，是一名来自得克萨斯州的42岁美国公民。美国联邦调查局说，在车内发现一面“伊斯兰国”国旗后，当局正在努力确定死亡嫌疑人是否与恐怖组织有任何联系。
总统表示，得知暴力事件后，他的第一反应是“愤怒和沮丧”，他很快会有更多的话要说。
当选总统唐纳德·特朗普也参与了这场悲剧，称其为“纯粹的邪恶”。
“我们的心与所有无辜的受害者和他们的亲人在一起，包括新奥尔良警察局勇敢的警官。特朗普政府将全力支持新奥尔良市进行调查，并从这一纯粹的邪恶行为中恢复过来!”特朗普在其保守的社交媒体平台上发表声明写道。
“当我说进来的罪犯比我们国家的罪犯更坏时，这种说法不断遭到民主党人和假新闻媒体的驳斥，但事实证明这是真的，”特朗普错误地暗示道，几个小时后，美国联邦调查局认定嫌疑人是一名来自得克萨斯州的美国公民。
路易斯安那州人众议院议长·迈克·约翰逊也称这种暴力是“纯粹的邪恶”
“今天凌晨在新奥尔良庆祝新年的无辜民众遭到恶性袭击，这是一种纯粹的邪恶行为，任何涉案者都必须迅速获得正义，”约翰逊在x上写道。“请和我们一起为受害者、他们的家人以及现场的第一反应者和调查人员祈祷。”
路易斯安那州参议员比尔·卡西迪也是一名共和党人，他称这一事件是“悲剧”，但他说，他认为糖碗比赛——元旦在新奥尔良举行的一年一度的大学足球比赛——应该继续进行。
“如果我们活不下去，恐怖分子就赢了。我们必须过自己的生活。不然再来一次，他们赢了也赢不了。卡西迪在福克斯新闻频道上说:“我们必须追踪他们，我们必须追捕他们，我们必须找出他们的支持网络，我们必须将他们绳之以法。”。
在他发表讲话几个小时后，一名当地官员说比赛已经推迟到周四。
路易斯安那州的民主党众议员特洛伊·卡特(Troy Carter)表示，他已经与白宫和DHS国务卿马约尔卡斯就袭击事件进行了交谈。卡特说，他的心与受害者及其家人在一起。
卡特在一份声明中说:“随着我们继续了解这场悲剧的更多信息，包括这种毫无意义的暴力背后的动机，我致力于与地方和联邦当局合作，确保为受害者伸张正义，并加强措施，保护我们的社区免受恐怖行为的伤害。”。
Biden, Trump respond to deadly New Year's Day attack in New Orleans
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday there is "no justification" for what he called the "horrific" attack early onNew Year's Day inNew Orleans, noting that the FBI was investigating it as an act of terrorism.
"I have been continually briefed since early this morning by federal law enforcement leadership and my homeland security team, including Secretary of Homeland Security Ali Mayorkas, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, and the Mayor of New Orleans regarding the horrific incident that occurred there overnight," Biden said in a written statement.
At least 15 people were killed and 25 injured when a vehicle rammed into a crowd gathered on Bourbon Street, authorities said.
Police say the driver was "hell-bent" on causing damage as they drove on the street at a very fast pace in the early morning hours Wednesday. The driver then exited the vehicle with an assault weapon, and was shot and killed by officers.
"I am grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury," Biden said. "I have directed my team to ensure every resource is available as federal, state, and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind."
"I will continue to receive updates throughout the day, and I will have more to say as we have further information to share. In the meantime, my heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday," the president added in the statement. "There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation's communities."
Biden briefly spoke about the attack as he departed Delaware to travel to Camp David, though he declined to comment on specific questions from reporters regarding the suspect's identity.
"I've contacted every agency in the federal government, as well as the state. They're all coordinating to get -- get to the bare facts," he said.
The suspectwas later identifiedas Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas, according to the FBI. Authorities are working to determine whether the deceased suspect had any affiliation with terrorist organizations after an ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, the FBI said.
The president said his first reaction to learning about the violence was "one of anger and frustration" and that he would have more to say soon.
President-elect Donald Trump also weighed in on the tragedy, calling it "pure evil."
"Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department. The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!" Trump wrote in a statement on his conservative social media platform.
"When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true," Trump falsely implied, hours before the FBI identified the suspect as a U.S. citizen from Texas.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana native, also called the violence "pure evil."
"The vicious attack on innocent people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans early this morning was an act of pure evil, and justice must be swift for anyone who was involved," Johnson wrote on X. "Please join us in praying for the victims, their families, and the first responders and investigators on the scene."
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, also a Republican, called the incident "tragic" but said he believed the Sugar Bowl -- an annual college football game played in New Orleans on New Year's Day -- should go on.
"The terrorists win if we don't live our lives. We must live our lives. Otherwise, one more time, they win and they can't win. We've got to track them down, we've got to hunt them down, we've got to find out their supporting network, and we've got to bring them to justice," Cassidy said on Fox News.
Hours after he spoke, a local official said the game had been postponed until Thursday.
Democratic Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana, whose congressional district includes New Orleans, said he's spoken to the White House and to DHS Secretary Mayorkas about the attack. Carter said his heart was with the victims and their families.
"As we continue to learn more about this tragedy, including the motive behind such senseless violence, I am committed to working with local and federal authorities to ensure justice for the victims and to strengthen measures that safeguard our communities against acts of terror," Carter said in a statement.
