Gov. Kay Ivey declares days of mourning for Alabama victims of New Orleans attack
Description
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work the scene on Bourbon Street after at least 10 people were killed when a person reportedly drove into the crowd in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day on Jan. 1, 2025, in New Orleans. Dozens more were injured after a suspect in a rented pickup truck allegedly drove around barricades and through a crowd of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street. The suspect then got out of the car, opened fire on police officers, and was subsequently killed by law enforcement. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
Gov. Kay Ivey Monday declared two days of mourning for two Alabamians killed in the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans.
In a proclation, the governor set Monday as a day of mourning for Kareem Badawi, a University of Alabama student. The governor set Wednesday as a day of mourning for Drew Dauphin, a Honda engineer and 2023 graduate of Auburn University.
“We will remember those lives lost, especially those who called Alabama home,” Ivey stated in the proclamation.
The move follows a declaration from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to observe a day of mourning for each of the 14 victims killed in the attack.
Badawi and Dauphin were killed in the early morning attack on New Year’s Day on Bourbon Street when Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, of Texas, drove a truck through the crowd. He was killed in a shootout with police. Weapons and a suspected explosive device were found in the vehicle, along with an Islamic State flag.
Flags across Alabama will remain at half-staff in remembrance of the victims. Flags were already lowered to honor the late President Jimmy Carter, who passed away in December.
The FBI now believes Jabbar acted alone in the New Orleans attack. Authorities say he placed two ice chests containing homemade explosives further down Bourbon Street two hours before driving a rented truck into crowds early Wednesday. Bomb-making materials were also found in the truck, which he rented in Houston, and in his Houston residence. Jabbar was also linked to a nearby rental property where more explosive materials and signs of a failed arson attempt were discovered.
Montgomery