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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
New Details in New Orleans Attack, Vegas Cybertruck Bombing; Bourbon Street Reopens with More Barricades, Added Security; Motive of Las Vegas Cybertruck Explosion Unknown; U.S. Officials: Man Connected To Cybertruck Explosion In Vegas Was Active-Duty Special Forces Soldier; FBI: New Orleans Attacker "100 Percent Inspired By ISIS"; Bourbon Street Reopens With More Barricades, Added Security; Injured Survivor Talks About New Orleans Attack. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired January 02, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: ... when you look at what's happening in Syria, and I know we don't have much time, but all of this disruption could be a bigger threat than people realize.
FRAN TOWNSEND, FORMER COUNTERTERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER TO BUSH: I think that's right. And what we're seeing is the online propaganda and recruitment is going up and that's exactly how they attract lone wolves. We'll see if there's a direct connection to ISIS here, but certainly he was a sympathizer.
BURNETT: All right, Fran Townsend, good to see you and thank you very much.
TOWNSEND: Thank you.
BURNETT: And thanks so much, as always to all of you for being with us. See you back here tomorrow night, AC360 starts now.
[20:00:33]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": And good evening from Bourbon Street. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Two stories tonight, two vehicles turned into weapons, one here and one in Las Vegas. Two suspects, both dead, both military, one a veteran, the other an active duty Green Beret. Both served at the former Fort Bragg in 2009 and in Afghanistan, but no indication from officials at this point that they knew each other.
Far less known about what may have motivated the Las Vegas suspect, found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in the burnt out wreckage of a Tesla truck outside a Trump hotel.
As for the New Orleans suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who was killed in a shootout after murdering 14 people in the early hours of the New Year, the FBI is out tonight with this new poster calling for information from the public about the attack. Now, normally we don't show pictures of mass killers like this. However, authorities are actively looking for information about this man, Jabbar. It features this new poster, two new images from an hour before the attack.
Also, an image of one of the two coolers, each containing an improvised explosive device which, according to the FBI, Jabbar placed near the attack.
Now, officials say he was, "A hundred percent inspired by ISIS." What we don't know is when exactly did that happen? When did that transformation take place?
Earlier today, CNN obtained exclusive video of the suspect, also, just hours before the attack. This is from a RING camera video from a neighboring home showing Jabbar unloading his rented truck outside the Airbnb where he stayed. President Biden today said that Jabbar acted alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have no information that anyone else was involved in the attack. They've established that the attacker was the same person who planted the explosives in those ice coolers in two nearby locations in the French Quarter just a few hours before he rammed into the crowd with his vehicle. They said he had a remote detonator in his vehicle to set off those two ice chests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Now, as we mentioned, we know less about the Las Vegas suspect at this hour. We do know that Matthew Livelsberger was an active duty Special Forces soldier. The winner of five -- awarded five bronze star medals, including one for valor in combat. Officials now say Livelsberger shot himself in the head before the blast. They say his body was burned beyond recognition.
We're also learning from a family member that he was a fan of the president-elect, which only adds to the mystery of why this happened in front of the Trump International Hotel. There is no mystery about the pain that is so apparent here in New Orleans.
Now, that said, just being here is a reminder of how much the heart can hold. That is the miracle of this place. As you can tell, Bourbon Street is back open. It opened several hours ago. Businesses are open. Liquor is being served. There is music. There are people walking around.
And earlier today, before it opened officially to the public, city officials, law enforcement officials allowed faith leaders to come to Bourbon Street, say prayers. And also, there was music here before the public was allowed in, in true New Orleans fashion. This is a city so much about music. Let's listen to some of what we heard from this second line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (SMALL GROUP SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: "We ain't scared," and you hear that from a lot of people here in New Orleans determined that this city moves forward, that this city is not defined by this event.
Today, investigators revealed a new timeline of the attack and what led up to it.
Our Randi Kaye has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Around 3:15 AM soon after, revelers in New Orleans rang in the New Year, a devastating scene. A white pickup truck accelerated through a crowd on Bourbon Street, mowing down everyone in its path.
JIMMY COTHRAN, WITNESS: A mother, twisted up. Obviously deceased, we counted around eight bodies very quickly, right in our area. One gentleman crushed, had tire tracks across his back.
KAYE (voice over): Dozens of people were injured and 14 declared dead. The driver of the F-150 truck was then killed in a shootout with police.
[20:05:32]
ANNE KIRKPATRICK, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT SUPERINTENDENT: This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could. It was not a DUI situation.
KAYE (voice over): Mechanical sidewalk barricades had been installed around Bourbon Street, but officials said they were being repaired at the time of the attack. Some eyewitnesses to the carnage awakened in their hotel room by screams and what sounded like an explosion.
ANNICA S. WITNESS: I saw a wheelchair that was sitting there. You know, at first I thought, like, is that a motorcycle? Like what? My eyes had to strain to understand what I was seeing, and then to see the man from the wheelchair laying in the gutter was heart wrenching.
KAYE (voice over): The suspect, later identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a Texas born US citizen and Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, inside his truck, an ISIS flag.
KAYE (on camera): The FBI says Jabbar placed two IEDs in the area before the attack, likely sometime between 1:00 and 2:00 AM, one of those devices was found here at the intersection of Bourbon and Orleans Street. The other, the FBI says, was located just two blocks away.
KAYE (voice over): The FBI is convinced Jabbar had been planning the attack for days, renting the F-150 in Houston on December 30th and driving to New Orleans on the 31st.
CHRISTOPHER RAIA, FBI DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: FBI: Let me be very clear about this point. This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act.
KAYE (on camera): The FBI found five videos on the suspect's Facebook account. The last video was apparently posted at 3:02 AM that's just 13 minutes before he terrorized this community and came barreling down Bourbon Street.
KAYE (voice over): According to the FBI, Jabbar proclaimed in the videos he originally planned to harm his family and friends, and that he joined ISIS before the summer.
More than 1,000 law enforcement agents in multiple states are sifting through data and leads. They focused on the suspect's Houston home and an Airbnb in New Orleans, where they believe the suspect stayed.
RAIA: We have recovered two laptops and are currently reviewing them for any potential leads.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Randi Kaye joins us now.
What else are authorities focusing on?
KAYE: Well, in addition to the two laptops, they also recovered three cell phones. So, they're going through those and of course digital forensics are key in a case like this. So they'll be going through those trying to see what he was doing on those.
What was he searching for? Who he might have been calling? Are there any potential leads on those cell phones? And then they have evidence teams, Anderson, going through that F-150 truck that he had rented from that service that was used in the attack, of course.
And they're still trying to figure out, Anderson, if there was any possible connection between the attack here in New Orleans and the truck that exploded in Las Vegas outside the Trump Hotel. So, a lot of work ahead of them.
COOPER: Yes, and they're looking for any help from the public, not just about what people here in New Orleans may have seen, but also anybody who knew this guy or had contact with this guy even in the last year, just to get a sense of sort of the timeline of his transformation.
KAYE: Yes, it's everything in a case like this.
COOPER: Yes, Randi Kaye, thank you so much.
Joining us now is CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller, CNN national security analyst Beth Sanner, former deputy director of national intelligence and former New Orleans mayor, Mitch Landrieu. John, I want to start off with you. What do we know about how this attacker may have become radicalized? And, I mean, they're saying he was 100 percent -- I'm sorry, John, is having a problem with his IFB.
Beth, let me start out with you. Do you think this guy should have been on the radar of the intelligence community or federal law enforcement?
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You know, this one I would say would be pretty tough. He is self-radicalized. You know, he's using these online unregulated platforms, probably Telegram or something like that and he's acting completely alone.
In these kinds of circumstances, it is incredibly hard because he's not talking to anybody. He's not reaching out. He's not part of a cell.
And so this method that is really promoted by the Islamic State is something that is the most difficult for law enforcement to catch. And, you know, I have to say they have caught, over 14 people were arrested this year related to Islamic state activities. So, you know, but sometimes somebody slips through.
COOPER: Yes, Mayor Landrieu, I mean, what is going through your mind tonight, as you see Bourbon Street back open? What questions do you want answered?
[20:10:05]
MITCH LANDRIEU, (D) FORMER NEW ORLEANS MAYOR: Well, first of all, everybody's thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and of course, to the first responders who ran to the fire that terminated this terrorist --
COOPER: And got injured themselves.
LANDRIEU: They got injured, they got shot. You have a number of different witnesses. I just got finished talking to a young man who was actually on the street, the truck missed him by an inch.
I mean, people in New Orleans, hearts are broken when they think you've been here many, many times, you've been covering the city of New Orleans. We are always entertaining people. We love to do it, to when there's ever any pain in our city, it hurts us, too.
But, you know, one of the things you want to think about is how you secure this city under difficult circumstances. You know, this, that it's not just Super Bowls and Sugar Bowls, but Mardi Gras, we have millions of people that are not just on Bourbon Street, but on all the streets of New Orleans. You can come here on any particular weekend where there's a festival. So things like this can happen around the country --
COOPER: It's interesting --
LANDRIEU: It's really hard. COOPER: But there's been talk about this street securing this street for a long time. But there was the attack in Nice, I think it was back in like 2016.
LANDRIEU: Correct, it happened in 2016. I was the mayor at the time. We instituted a $40-million plan. This is where the bollards came from. The crime cameras, the Real Time Crime Center as well, because I was worried about a Nice-like attack, which this actually was, which is why the bollards were put up, as well as some other security devices as well.
So this street is critically important, but it's not the only street. And we do a lot of other stuff. So it's hard, we've just got to get better at this.
Federal authorities and state authorities and local authorities have to get better prepared. Got to look further ahead. And of course, the response after the tragic event, what they did, they did exactly what they were supposed to do.
COOPER: Yes. John Miller, what do we know about how this attacker may have become radicalized, where he may have taken inspiration for this attack? I mean, at this point, does law enforcement from what you understand, do you think they know exactly?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: I think they're still paging back through his life. I mean, now it's an archeological dig to figure out where he made that turn. They're studying a trip he made to Egypt. I mean, they're studying all of his travel with a focus on that trip, and interviews, he's, you know, given as he's come into different ports. But I think you go by his own statements on tape, which is he says he joined ISIS last summer.
So what we're seeing is probably a sudden turn, as we've seen a downturn in his life financially and family wise. And this is not uncommon where people are radicalized as they are losing self- confidence and self-esteem. Groups like ISIS promise them heroism and belonging, and it becomes a powerful elixir, especially for people who feel they're spiraling.
COOPER: There's new video tonight, which is exclusive to CNN, showing the suspect around midnight, moving back and forth from the Airbnb to his truck parked outside. You can see him rifling around the bed of the truck. And then at one point, he put something in the bed of his truck that appears to match the white pole and the black ISIS flag that was found in the truck after the attack.
Beth, in your experience, I mean, authorities are saying he is 100 percent inspired by ISIS. That doesn't necessarily mean he was in contact directly with somebody overseas, right? I mean, a lot of these people are just seeing stuff online, pledging allegiance in whatever, you know, way in their own mind and launching these. If this is not necessarily something centrally orchestrated or controlled.
SANNER: Exactly, it's really common now in a number of the cases that we've seen over the past year, in particular, where there isn't a communication, these really are people who on their own are finding this inspiration as John said, you know, in a search for problems that they have in their lives and just, you know, ideas just gone completely haywire for them personally.
And so, you know, but then at the same time, we had this case in Arizona where we had the legal immigrants from Afghanistan, and they did seem to be in contact with family. And there was a parallel plot in France that was going to be initiated. So, you know, we have across the gamut here, all sorts of people. Some are just lone wolves and some are part of a plot.
COOPER: Yes, Mayor Landrieu, "The New York Times" tonight is reporting on this 2019 security assessment I guess that was prepared for the agency that oversees the French Quarter warning that Bourbon Street was vulnerable.
What sort of, I mean, moving forward, I know the city, I think, said that the bollards that blocked the street they were in need of repair and that's why they weren't up at the time. Does more need to be added, do you think? Do you think had they been working that would have been enough?
[20:15:11]
LANDRIEU: Well first of all, I'm glad John's on. John knows as much about this as anybody in the country. He has been down here many times. I always thought Bourbon Street was at risk. That's why in 2016, we initiated the security plan that put them up.
I think the bollards would have slowed him down. Whether or not it would have completely stopped him. Remember, this was a Ford lightning --
COOPER: What about shutting down -- I was in the hospital earlier today talking to one of the victims who survived, thankfully. His legs had been crushed. He was saying he thought this street should be shut down throughout the day. Because right now, the traffic is allowed in during the day, I guess and then at night.
LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, I think the security experts have to look at it. The challenge with this, this is a 60 square block area. And there are people, as you know, on all of the streets, on Bourbon Street, which is a pedestrian street. He chose this street because it was a symbolic target.
COOPER: Right.
LANDRIEU: We seriously thought about doing that, and I think that they're going to have to think about it again. But remember, you can see this. This is a residential area. It's a business area. It's a tourism area. Getting everybody in and out here is a challenge.
I happen to think that on big event nights like this, like the Super Bowl or the Sugar Bowl, they ought to seriously think about shutting it down as much as they possibly can, given the traffic that they have. COOPER: Because there could be permanent, you know, giant planters blocking off the road permanently.
LANDRIEU: You could. But again, you have emergency vehicles that have to get down here in the event of a fire. Or again, as you said, another kind of terrorist attack as well.
So, I think you have to assess the situation. You have to go back and look at everything and then understand what the facts are. You asked me before what the thing that troubled me the most is, this was an American citizen who was a veteran who lived in Texas.
You also have the situation in Las Vegas where this fellow was evidently Special Forces --
COOPER: Active duty.
LANDRIEU: That should be very troubling from a domestic terrorism point of view. And I know the FBI is looking into this, and I'm sure, you know, they'll have more information for us as we go along.
COOPER: Well, John Miller, what do you make -- the FBI is saying in these Facebook posts that he made, this guy Jabbar made, as he was driving to New Orleans to commit this heinous act. He made about five postings to his Facebook. He was talking about -- his initial plan was to kill his friends and family members, but decided he didn't like the way he thought that would be portrayed.
It wouldn't be, I guess, radical enough. It wouldn't be portrayed in the media as being part of a war between believers and nonbelievers. How much of this is a mental health thing? And I mean, obviously, he allegedly converted to Islam, I guess within the last year ago or so.
MILLER: Well, you can't separate the idea that completely irrational acts, you know, come from a rational person, but he's certainly an individual who was well trained, who understood right from wrong, and was very meticulous about this, Anderson.
I mean, when you think about the level of planning, you know, ISIS has instructions for followers about how to do a ramming attack. It gives requirements to get a large vehicle, but one that can go fast, find a crowded street, but one with narrow sidewalks where pedestrians will be in the street.
It talks about having secondary weapons so that when you finally are stopped or crash, you can continue the attack. And we know when he finally crashed into that crane, he jumped out and opened fire.
And luckily for everybody, the police were on the scene to engage him in that gunfight and quite heroically, two of them were wounded. But you know what the president referenced earlier today is that he had remote control transmitters that were connected to the two pipe bombs that were placed in the coolers, two blocks in every direction. So it appears that his vision was that as he was running over people and 911 calls were coming, that first responders and crowds would be streaming in from either side, and that he would then detonate these devices by remote control.
So there's a lot of thought, evil thought that went into this. And it actually could have been worse.
COOPER: Yes, and we've seen that kind of attack where you have a secondary attack waiting for the first responders to come in.
Beth Sanner, thank you. Mayor Landrieu, I appreciate you. I'm sorry were here under these circumstances.
John Miller, stay with us. John has got new reporting next about the Las Vegas incident. And the suspect who is dead in that attack.
Later, we will speak with a survivor of the attack here whose friend was one of the 14 who was killed on this street in the first hours of the New Year.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:23:24]
COOPER: A picture of the end of a man's life and the start of a mystery, namely, what propelled a decorated Army Green Beret to pack a truck with fuel, gas tanks and fireworks drive to the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and then shoot himself before the whole thing detonated?
CNN's John Miller is back with some new insights into the man's life. Also joining us is CNN's senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI deputy director, Andrew McCabe.
I mean, John, this is startling that this guy was an active duty Green Beret. What more do you know about his background?
MILLER: He has been in the Army for 19 years plus. He is coming up on his -- he was coming up on his 20 years. He spent much of that time in Special Forces, and much of that time as a highly trained Green Beret operator, steeped as an expert in communication systems, in intelligence operations, in crisis management, and vulnerability assessment.
He is apparently, you know, one of the most experienced and knowledgeable kinds of operators the US Military has, with five bronze stars, and it is just not who you expect to see in front of the car that blows up in front of Trump Tower in Las Vegas.
COOPER: And, John, I mean, Andrew, obviously, look, it's in front of a Trump hotel. It's in a vehicle, which is, you know, been created by Elon Musk's company. What do you make of how this attack was carried out? How unusual is it for an active duty member of the military and special operations, particularly to be involved in something like this?
[20:25:10] ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, it's really remarkable, Anderson.
Now, it's not the first time we've seen a military member, you know, I should say we have we have isolated instances of people in the military who have been recruited by or drawn into extremist ideologies at various points in the last few decades. But this is the first one that I can remember when you have an active duty, as John, was just relaying highly specially trained Special Forces operator engaging in this sort of an attempted attack.
We don't know yet if there was specifically a political motive here or an ideological motive. I suspect that we'll learn more when law enforcement has an opportunity to really start digging into his background, start accessing devices that might unlock some of those mysteries for us -- telephones, computers, laptops, iPads, things like that that might show us his browsing history, his contacts, his activity on social media, all the typical places we go to try to understand someone after they've done something like this.
There are those superficial indicators of the Trump hotel and of course the cybertruck associated with Elon Musk, but I think it's probably premature to put too much significance on those until we really start going through the information of this person's recent history.
COOPER: John, I mean, how soon do you think investigators could be able to piece together a motive?
MILLER: You know, Anderson, I feel like it's coming together as we speak, meaning, in the next couple or three days, I think we'll have a clearer picture.
But what is emerging as we have kind of highlighted the similarities that bring New Orleans and the Las Vegas case together. They are probably, from an investigative standpoint, starting to drift apart.
The indicators they're seeing around Livelsberger, the individual involved in Las Vegas, the Special Operations Green Beret, is indicators that there were issues at home, stressors in his personal life, stressors in his military life, including potential depression, concerns he was having about the role of Special Forces, the PTSD involved in the long deployments in very dangerous situations, the civilian casualties that are collateral damage in some of the operations that these operators see, and it appears that this may have been triggered by a final stressor that sent him into a suicide that was going to send a big signal.
Perhaps, and it's a supposition here that the choice of the location to blow himself up and he is the only casualty here in terms of fatalities, was to get the attention of the incoming president for some of these issues that he may be going through.
Now, that's preliminary and we've learned in this instance, of course, that facts will shift and change, but that is the picture that they are developing as it becomes richer. COOPER: Andrew, what do you make of that?
MCCABE: I think that that all sounds right to me, Anderson, you know, as discussing comparing this attack with New Orleans yesterday or yesterday evening, discussing it with colleagues, to me, although there were some very significant similarities, vehicle borne attack, use of a firearm or use of explosives, taking place on the same day, rental cars from the same company, electric vehicles, all of those kind of surface level similarities, there were some fundamental differences.
For me, the New Orleans attack is classic ISIS, right? It's literally out of the instruction manual that ISIS pushes out to its supporters and adherents looking for mass casualties in a cheap and kind of obvious way. The use of a secondary weapon to continue the killing after you crash the vehicle. All that stuff is designed to kill as many people as possible in a high profile event that's going to get a lot of attention.
This attack seemed very different to me. You've got a guy who drives from Colorado to Las Vegas. He gets there early in the morning. He ultimately brings the car to Trump Tower for the final time. He goes once and takes a look at it. He comes back and sets it off at a moment when really very few people are there to get hurt.
It almost felt for me more like the Christmas Day RV bomber in Nashville just a couple of years ago. As an individual who is suicidal, built a large device inside his RV, took it to downtown Nashville on Christmas morning. Very early in the morning, played music from the RV in an effort to kind of distract people, to detonate it at a time to minimize casualties, which is the assessment of FBI.
So, this Las Vegas bombing or the truck explosion felt a lot like Nashville to me and that is fundamentally different from what we saw in New Orleans yesterday morning.
COOPER: Oh, that's really interesting.
John Miller, Andrew McCabe, thank you. Obviously, still a lot to comb through for law enforcement.
Coming up, we talked to some survivors telling their stories, including a friend of 18-year-old Ni'kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux who was there on Bourbon Street with her. He was nearly killed himself. She lost her life, more ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, all day today, we've been learning about some of the people who were killed here on Bourbon Street. We don't have all of their names, but I do want to tell you a little bit about the eight people that we do know of.
Drew Dauphin was a graduate of Auburn University. His family says he lit up every room he entered and was happy spending time at the lake with his little brother Matthew. Drew Dauphin was 26. We say his name tonight with the others and we remember him.
[20:35:12]
We remember University of Alabama student Kareem Badawi. A classmate of his was injured in the attack. Their high school in Baton Rouge scheduled a prayer session for both of them tonight.
Matthew Tenedorio's cousin Zach (ph) remembers him as a joyful person telling the local paper we'd walk into my grandma's house and he just started giggling. He worked at the Superdome as an audio-visual technician. Matthew Tenedorio was 25 and we remember him tonight.
We also remember Hubert Gauthreaux, who was just 21, a graduate of Archbishop Shaw High School here in New Orleans. Reggie Hunter's cousin Travis remembers Reggie as a good and pure-hearted person, beautiful inside and out. He was 37 years old.
He leaves a wife and two children. One is 11, the other just a year old. Reggie Hunter we remember.
And 27-year-old Tiger Bech was a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, former football player at Princeton University. Princeton's football coach remembered him as a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate, and a caring friend.
Billy DiMaio was 25. He worked in New York City. His company, Audacy, remembers him for his, quote, "unwavering work ethic, his positive attitude, and kindness". And 18-year-old Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux was from Mississippi. She was there with her cousin and a friend.
Joining me now is her friend Zion Parsons, who witnessed the terror attack. Zion, thank you for being here, and I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend.
ZION PARSONS, FRIEND OF NIKYRA CHEYENNE DEDEAUX: Yes.
COOPER: What do you remember about what happened?
PARSONS: The attack in itself was just horrific, man, like truly straight out of a movie, unlike anything I've seen. Giant Ford F-150 comes barreling down the road and --
COOPER: You saw it heading toward you?
PARSONS: Yes, straight, I think it came off of Canal.
COOPER: Yes.
PARSONS: It was where Bourbon and Canal meet, and just came barreling and hitting everybody.
COOPER: And did you -- what happened when it came close to you?
PARSONS: We were actually a little bit late. I just saw CCTV footage of the accident. And when I saw it, I saw that Nikyra, my friend, happened to be looking at her cell phone when it all happened. And we were already running a lot slower than a lot of other people, so it barely missed me and her friend. It happened to get her.
COOPER: What was Nikyra like?
PARSONS: Nikyra was just the most amazing person --
COOPER: I love how your face lights up when you think of her.
PARSONS: Everybody, everybody loved her. She was just so bubbly, so eccentric, just a light to be around. And no matter -- if you were sad, she would cheer you up. No matter what, she would make that her main goal.
COOPER: Yes.
PARSONS: She was just amazing, man.
COOPER: What -- how did you guys meet?
PARSONS: We met at like a pool party through a different friend of mine, Krishan, Krishan Thomas (ph). He ended up introducing us, and I've known her for about a year now, but we didn't start getting close until a few months ago.
So, we started hanging out a few months ago, and I just -- I knew -- I saw why everybody wanted to be around her, man. She's just so amazing.
COOPER: Wow.
PARSONS: Truly.
COOPER: Does it feel -- I mean, it's just got to be surreal for you -- I mean, this has all happened so fast.
PARSONS: Yes, you know, it's -- it was only yesterday, but it feels like it's been happening for so long. I barely slept. It's hard to eat. I can't eat. I just ate my first little piece of sandwich the other day, and it just makes my stomach so upset.
COOPER: Yes.
PARSONS: You know, being here is actually quite unsettling, but I know I got to get her story out, man. She -- people have to know --
COOPER: Yes.
PARSONS: -- what type of person she was.
COOPER: Yes. Well, Zion, I wish you the best. I'm so sorry for your loss.
PARSONS: No problem at all.
COOPER: Yes, thank you.
PARSONS: Thank you very much.
COOPER: Thank you very much.
We're going to be learning, obviously, more about many of the people who died here. Just ahead, we'll talk to Jeremi Sensky, who was in his wheelchair when he was hit by the truck. He's now recovering from surgery and two broken legs. My conversation with him next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:43:23]
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: Some of the first music we heard on Bourbon Street earlier this afternoon just before the city opened the street once again. And as you can hear tonight, it is full of people. Bars are open, but there's a lot of sadness in this city.
Shortly after I spoke with native son, music producer and rapper Master P, he was there at the opening of the street today. And he talked about the resiliency of this city in the face of so much.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
MASTER P, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: We've got to come together. We need hope. We need love. We got a great mayor. We got a great governor. And we spread that message that we're not going to let this evil tragedy stop our city and shut us down.
We're going to show the world how we get stronger together and how we stick together and overcome this. And I think that's going to send that message to the rest of the world to where -- even these large events, they're going to beef up security is going to be even stronger now. And I feel like nobody is going to get caught slipping anymore because this wasn't about New Orleans.
This tragedy is not about New Orleans. So that's what I want people to know. This is not something that was supposed to happen in New Orleans. This could happen anywhere in the world.
So, when you hit a band saying we ain't scared, we ain't scared because we got to live. We got to survive.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: That was Master P this afternoon here in New Orleans.
[20:45:00]
Joining me now, New Orleans resident and Louisiana son James Carville. I mean, this is, you know, this is your city. What do you -- what are your thoughts tonight? JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Oh man, I was having a -- I had a great night New Year's Eve and then my daughter calls me in the morning and my heart goes out. I mean, I'm connected to some of the people who were killed here and, you know, some different ways.
Everybody in Louisiana is, but you're right. We're resilient here. Not resilient. You don't have no business being here. Don't come here if you're not resilient. If you're going to fold, this is not the point. Go to Manila if you're going to fold. Welcome to New Orleans.
COOPER: It was, I mean, it was remarkable today. I was here this afternoon. City officials, first they allowed in like faith leaders, preachers came. There were people praying on the street. Then the second line came singing. We showed some of that video.
It is, you know, I remember 19 years ago being here when Bourbon Street reopened for the first time after Katrina. I remember the first bar that was open. It was full of mostly police and first responders. This is a city that has had such, I mean, such incredible e highs and such incredible lows and yet it rolls on.
CARVILLE: Well, I mean, we're like to revel (ph). We just keep rolling. Our carnival crew. But let me -- I want to give a shout out to our police department. I mean, they were present last night. As soon as the gunfire opened up, they ran toward the gunfire.
COOPER: Two officers (INAUDIBLE).
CARVILLE: Yes, absolutely. And I'll tell you what worries me. I said, we have a very vibrant and civically engaged Muslim community here. And I just hope that I want to express my solidarity with them and I hope some stupid Yahoo doesn't like fool with those people or anything else.
They're patriotic people. They're great citizens. They're hardworking people and they have nothing to do with this at all. I really mean that.
COOPER: Did you ever think -- I mean, there have been talk -- I talked to Mayor Landrieu. He was saying back in 2016, after the attack in Nice, a car attack on a promenade there, he was concerned. They did security reviews. That's when they started to put in some of the barricades. I mean, was this something that -- was this on your radar?
CARVILLE: Well, look, if somebody doesn't care, if they get killed a shot, how are you going to stop it? There's 13 blocks down river from Canal to Esplanade. It's not the only entrance on Bourbon and Canal Street.
COOPER: Right.
CARVILLE: It could have gotten in. And once people don't care, they, honestly, you've had a pretty big disadvantage. It's all a focus on what -- that's a very active, that 100 block of Bourbon street, a lot of shenanigans go on there, but there are police everywhere. And that guy, he didn't care. He wanted to be killed. And he -- so -- but I don't blame our police. I mean, my hat is off to all of them. I -- and as soon as that happened, they ran in the right place.
COOPER: Do you think that something will change now? I mean, in terms of security planning, preparations, do you think something needs to?
CARVILLE: Yes, I don't think -- I mean, look again --
COOPER: I guess there's so many live big events here.
CARVILLE: It's huge. They got.
COOPER: And this city is really good. The New Orleans police department for all the criticism they've gotten is up in live events, they are very good at crowd control, if you take that.
CARVILLE: We have a great chief, OK. I mean, it's like anything else. The police department is better sometimes. I think right now is a damn good time for NOPD to have shorthanded, but that's the nature of it. But, you know, we got to come together.
People got -- we got to come together. People have been hurt bad, but the city is going to go on and it's not our police fault. And it's not all Muslim citizens fault, anything like that. It's some crazy guy. It's going to close the border. They ought to close the border between Jefferson County, Texas and Calcasieu County Parish, Louisiana (INAUDIBLE).
COOPER: When you heard that, I mean, it was somebody who'd been in the military and this attack when there's a lot more, we don't know about the attack in Las Vegas, obviously, but an active-duty member of the military. I mean, it's -- I guess it shouldn't be shocking, but it is still shocking.
CARVILLE: And the thing is -- the particular guy in Las Vegas, a highly trained --
COOPER: Yes.
CARVILLE: -- soldier, but the crazy guy -- the guy from Houston was in the army for nine years. I mean, I've been in the military. The one thing you do is you learn how to deal with explosives. And, you know, if you wanted to, fortunately for us, 99.99 percent of them don't do that. But at the end of the day, it's just my theory and I'm going to be right 80 percent of the time.
These people have some kind of sexual problem. I think that most of them are incel. I'll be wrong 20 percent. I'll say that, but I'm not going to be wrong much more than that. They're going to do it.
COOPER: What do you think happens -- I mean, today there was -- the football game, huge security. There were like 50 bomb sniffing dogs --
CARVILLE: Right. COOPER: -- more than a hundred law enforcement personnel. I mean, do you think they're going to -- there was some talk about maybe permanently making Bourbon Street, a pedestrian street.
[20:50:04]
CARVILLE: I've just been talking that for a long time.
COOPER: Yes.
CARVILLE: And there's talk about limiting -- we're talking about limited access to the French quarter. We're talking about having security things. I mean, there's a lot of people. I have friends of mine have businesses here.
Felix Arthur was right there. They're going to do 5 percent of that total gross in five days. I mean, they'll do more business this weekend. They're probably doing a whole month of July. And so, and I'm not a fan of our governors. I didn't vote for him, but he was absolutely right to go out to dinner and people criticize him.
No, the life of the city has to go on. The commerce of the city has to go on. And I congratulate the governor for coming down here and spending some money. And I hope other people do and support these people because they can't take much more.
It is true. You let the terrorists win. If you shut everything down, you know, then the guy win and you can't do that. But it's unfortunate aspect of modern American life, but we'll live with it. We'll persevere.
COOPER: James Carville, appreciate it.
CARVILLE: Thank you.
COOPER: Thank you.
Up next, my conversation with a survivor who is tonight in the hospital, still recovering from serious injuries. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:55:08]
And welcome back. We are in New Orleans overlooking a reopened and loud Bourbon Street. Earlier today, I spoke to Dr. Jeffrey Elder at the University Medical Center here in New Orleans. It's a trauma one, a hospital very close to here. He specialized in emergency medicine. He had been on work all day long, went back home, was then called back in after the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: -- were most of the injuries from the vehicle itself or guns -- were there gunshots as well? DR. JEFFREY ELDER, UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER NEW ORLEANS: Yes. So, you know, it was interesting because, you know, when you talk about injuries, you think of a blunt mechanism, like a car crash or penetrating trauma, like a knife wound or a gunshot wound. And really here we had both.
Most of our patients were unfortunately suffering blunt trauma. So they'd been hit by the vehicle and had injuries to the abdomen, the chest, the head, and a lot of broken bones. We had a few patients, really the minority that had gunshot wounds that were here.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: This hospital is about 10 years old. It's really beautiful. Dr. Elder was also saying that this was the largest number of sick, critical trauma patients that they've ever seen in such a short period of time.
I met earlier today at that hospital with Pittsburgh area native, Jeremi Sensky. Jeremy is -- uses a specialized wheelchair. He was in New Orleans on vacation. He uses the wheelchair because he was in a car accident in 1999. He's paralyzed.
I spoke to him. He was on Bourbon Street. He was struck directly by the truck in his legs, in the wheelchair. He survived miraculously. I spoke to him earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
JEREMI SENSKY, INJURED IN BOURBON STREET ATTACK: I think I got hit and my body was just thrown onto the ground. And I just, for like a second, I don't remember that moment. But as soon as I hit the ground, I think I came right back awake.
The first thing I remember when I hit the ground were the gunshots. And as soon as I heard the gunshots, I was thinking in my head that I would hope I was clear from the gunshots. And I thought that's kind of why I was on the ground.
In my head, I thought, well, maybe I'm on the ground because of the people are shooting and I was on the ground to get away from it.
COOPER: So did you -- you heard shots? Did you see anything around you?
SENSKY: No, I didn't see anything. Like while I was hearing shots, I was still like disoriented. And the whole time I was like pretty messed up. I really didn't know what was going on. And I was just glad that I didn't get shot.
Like I'm thinking the gunshots. I'm laying on the ground. I should be safe. And then my leg was messed up. I kept messing with my leg. I'm like trying to figure out what's wrong with my leg. And I saw this stuff around me, which was parts of my wheelchair.
So I started scraping and trying to find my phone. I really couldn't tell what was what. So I tried to get my phone. I wanted to use the phone. I was going to call my wife and tell her I was alive.
COOPER: Your leg -- you were -- I mean, you were bleeding.
SENSKY: I was -- I think that I was bleeding, but I -- it was my -- my leg was just broke like in a bunch of different pieces.
COOPER: There's a photograph taken from overhead where the truck is and you are -- you're on the ground.
SENSKY: Yes. The truck was to my right.
COOPER: So did you -- you heard shots, did you see anything around you?
SENSKY: No, I didn't see anything like that. I was screaming, help, help, help, help. And finally a guy came over and said, listen, you're lucky to be alive. He said, many people aren't as lucky as you.
COOPER: I heard that somebody put a mark on your forehead indicating you were alive.
SENSKY: So somebody came over and they put a yellow X. And I asked, what does that mean? And they didn't tell me. But later on, I found what it meant because whenever they -- what they did is after a while, unless for how long was, the time was like forever.
I mean, I felt like I was there forever. I was laying on my back and there was a guy named Patrick. He was one of the cops that was dressed up in like the army fatigue killer. And he's -- eventually he just stayed with me. After I told him I couldn't walk and I was paralyzed, he stayed with me.
And I asked him what had happened. He said, we don't know. We're still trying to figure it out. And I said, was it just a drunk driver or something? Did someone blow up something? Because I didn't know.
I still hadn't put two together. The truck had done anything really. And even though I had seen the truck, I never even thought that that's what had happened because I was like out of it.
COOPER: When did you learn that it was this person, a terror attack?
SENSKY: Today -- they were talking about something about someone shooting a cop or something or someone got shot by a cop, but no one called it a terror attack. And I kept asking people like the nurses and doctors that were with me that night and no one said it was a terror attack. And today I found out that it was a terror attack.
COOPER: Does it make you angry?
SENSKY: Me personally, I'm going to have a hard time probably coming back to Bourbon Street for a while, but, I mean, I might -- but I'm not -- it is -- my whole thing was, you should feel safe there. And hopefully, there was definitely things that were wrong.
They didn't put up the stupid thing at the end of the road that I had to drive over my wheelchair. It's supposed to stop the cars. It wasn't up. So that was definitely a problem. Like that thing that was supposed to be up was down. I drove over it.
I didn't get pushed over it, but it was only this tall, like 5 inches tall --
COOPER: Yes. They said it needed to be repaired or something.
SENSKY: Yes. Well, they should have repaired it before New Year's Eve.
COOPER: Is there anything else you want people to know? I don't want to take up too much of your time.
SENSKY: I'm just happy to be alive, man. I don't want people to be afraid to go out and do things. I mean, I really don't. I mean, this could happen anytime, anywhere, but what are you going to do? Stop living your life.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: By the way, Jeremi Sensky's wheelchair was destroyed in the attack. It's expensive. It's highly specialized model. It's called a Permobil F3, a Permobil F3. His family is desperate to try to get a replacement within the next day or two so he can get out of the hospital.
He is paralyzed. If anyone can help, including a Permobil, please get in touch with the University Medical Center for us.
The news continues. The Source starts right now.
