US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill visited last night the site in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, where a car attack on the morning of January 1 killed 14 people and injured dozens, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
After paying tribute to the victims on "Bourbon" Street, the presidential couple met with relatives of the victims, as well as survivors of the attack and injured local police officers during the memorial service at the "St. Louis" Cathedral in New Orleans.
The suspect in the attack, Shamsuddin Jabbar, who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on the aforementioned street in the French Quarter, was killed in a shootout with police.
The head of state and the first lady honored the memory of the victims, with Jill Biden laying a bouquet of flowers at the memorial site. While standing in tribute, Joe Biden crossed himself, Reuters notes, and then went with his wife to the cathedral for the memorial service.
The FBI announced that Jabbar, a 42-year-old former US Army soldier, who is originally from Texas, was inspired by the jihadist group "Islamic State". Biden, who will hand over the White House to his successor Donald Trump on January 20, confirmed that conclusion in a statement on Sunday, Reuters reported.
"I have spent literally 17 to 18 hours with the intelligence community since the tragedy, establishing exactly what happened. We have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that the act in New Orleans was carried out alone by one person," the president said.
In his speech at a service last night in "St. Louis" Biden said those affected by the New Year's Eve attack "are not alone".
"I know it's hard to go through something like this, the shock and the pain are still fresh... It's not the same. But we know what it's like to lose a piece of your soul," the US president told mourners.
Like many presidents before him during his term, he regularly traveled around the country to comfort people after natural disasters or acts of violence, Reuters points out.
"If there's one thing we're convinced of, it's that New Orleans stands for strength and resilience," the US president added.