CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte couple traveled to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl and were celebrating New Year’s Eve on Bourbon Street an hour before a suspect drove a truck through a crowd killing 14 and injuring many others.
Before the carnage, Jeffrey Wolff and Jeff Watson were snapping photos of the revelling crowd.
“The energy was great on Bourbon Street, and we were up walking up and down Bourbon Street,” Wolff said.
They said they felt safe because there were a lot of police there.
“They were just on every single corner, not just one or two or three,” Wolff said. “There were like five to 10 police officers. Mounted police officers on horses. They were just everywhere.”
They returned to their hotel and an hour later heartbreak hit The Big Easy.
The driver of the pickup — Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42 — drove around a police blockade and hit those celebrating 2024 in the city’s French Quarter.
The man was inspired by the Islamic State group, according to reports.
The couple are counting their blessings.
“We came here to see a football game, Watson told Channel 9. “Yeah, that’s important but we could be in a very different situation if we had energy for one more hour, honestly, and made that walk an hour later.”
They said the city feels numb now with crime scene tape still up on Thursday in parts of the area.
“My heart just breaks for them and the city,” Wolff said.
The Sugar Bowl was postponed until Thursday afternoon. They are going to the game and will return to Charlotte.
The FBI said the suspect acted alone.
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