Leaders seek answers after Bourbon Street attack

The big picture: City Council members are set to grill the New Orleans Police Department and the Department of Public Works at a committee meeting Wednesday about "all barriers available to limit roadway and sidewalk access," the agenda says.

• The suspect was able to drive a pickup truck onto the crowded street, partly because bollards and other deterrents were not in place or working.
• Fourteen people were killed and at least 35 more were injured. Ten of those remain hospitalized at UMC, with two in intensive care, according to WDSU.
• The FBI is leading the criminal investigation into the act of terrorism.

Zoom in: NOPD chief Anne Kirkpatrick has had the job for a little over a year. Before the attack, she had the highest approval rating for a public official in New Orleans.

• "Yes, the voices are out there, and the voices would like to discourage me by calling for me to resign, and I'm not going to do that," she told WWL-TV on Tuesday at a gathering of faith leaders. "I believe I am the right person for this time."
• She has the support of the local Fraternal Order of Police and other groups.

The intrigue: Collin Arnold, the city's director of homeland security, has been missing from the public discussion so far.

• He's usually one of the public faces of security updates with Kirkpatrick and Mayor LaToya Cantrell, but he hasn't been at the majority of the press conferences in the past week.
• He popped up in a WWL Radio interview on Tuesday to talk about bollards and other types of barricades used in the French Quarter.
• Arnold's office did not respond to a request from Axios about his schedule or involvement in security planning for New Year's Eve and the Sugar Bowl.

Zoom out: Attorney General Liz Murrill also ordered the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations to do a full review of security plans for New Year's Eve and the Sugar Bowl.

• The plan is to get a preliminary report to lawmakers before the session starts in April in case legislation needs to be passed, she told reporters Tuesday.
• She said she'll look at "all aspects of the planning for and execution of security measures," including previous audits and state, local and federal coordination.
• "(This city) has a great sort of love of life and it expresses that through music and festivals and through communal sharing events, and so there is kind of a general resistance to some of the boundaries that we actually need to establish (for a) greater sense of security."

Between the lines: The City Council said it will be a "supportive partner" to Murrill's investigation, Council president Helena Moreno said in a statement.

• "Attorney General Murrill's tactical inquiry into the New Year's Day events will not hinder the City Council's examination of other significant issues, such as the recent revelations about the subpar bollard system," Moreno said. "Instead, it will enable the Council to focus fully on identifying solutions and proactive measures for enhanced security initiatives for Mardi Gras, the Super Bowl and beyond."

• The council's investigation will focus on contracting, spending and execution of the French Quarter security infrastructure over the last five years, Council vice president JP Morrell said.
• "Who made the executive decision to select useless Go Kart bollards to replace existing infrastructure capable of stopping U-Haul trucks?" he said in a reference to the new, weaker bollards the city purchased, but not yet installed, as replacements for the nonfunctioning bollards.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit is expected to be filed this week alleging negligence against the city and NOPD, and another firm, Morris Bart, is exploring litigation.

The bottom line: Officials appear eager to find out what went wrong and prevent it from happening during Carnival and when the New Orleans hosts the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.

• Both events now have the nation's highest threat levels, which allocates extensive federal support. Cantrell has asked for a tactical expert to review the city's plans.
• Murrill said she expects to see permanent security changes for the Mardi Gras season.
• "I think we have to wrap our arms around the fact that this city can be a target for terrorism and that isn't going to change," she said.

Go deeper

• The victims of the Bourbon Street attack
• How to help after the Bourbon Street attack
• President Biden: "New Orleans defines strength"
• Even as New Orleans mourns, Carnival begins again
• New Orleans leaders face questions over preventability of terror attack
• Terror attack timeline