At the intersection that marks the centre of New Orleans’s noisy tourist hub, lined with tall palm trees and towering hotels, the quiet on the morning of New Year’s Day was broken only by yellow police tape fluttering in the light breeze and the occasional blare of sirens echoing on the road.
‘I heard the pops and I just ran’: New Orleans in shock after vehicle attack Residents celebrating new year recall scrambling for cover as scenes unimaginable unfolded in the French Quarter.
Kirsch had come to New Orleans from Pittsburgh to celebrate the new year with his family, but instead spent the early hours of 2025 frantically trying to ascertain his father-in-law, Jeremi’s, whereabouts.
As the sun rose on New Year’s Day, 28-year-old Casey Kirsch stood at the crime scene perimeter hoping to retrieve his father-in-law’s wheelchair, which had been left behind in the chaotic aftermath.
A vehicle had ploughed into the throngs and a gunman exchanged fire with police, leaving at least 10 people dead and dozens injured.
