Sugar mill continues in New Orleans after deadly attack

Fans from two US universities packed a stadium in New Orleans for a highly anticipated football game as the city reeled from the New Year’s onslaught.

The annual Sugar Bowl, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed to Thursday at 3:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. GMT) after a Texas man drove down a busy New Orleans street, killing 14 people.

People gathered at the stadium observed a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack on Wednesday.

The game brought thousands of fans into town to see the University of Notre Dame take on the University of Georgia at the 70,000-seat Caesars Superdome.

Notre Dame’s “Fighting Irish” ultimately emerged victorious, defeating the Georgia Bulldogs 23-10.

Before the game, Bourbon Street, where Wednesday’s attack took place, reopened to the public for the first time since the deadly incident.

On both sides of the street there were yellow barriers, designed to keep cars from going onto the sidewalk.

Fourteen flowers were laid against the wall where the attacker first entered the crowd.

Many of those in attendance came for a few drinks before heading to the stadium for the game, almost all dressed in red for Georgia and green or blue and gold for Notre Dame.

As the street reopened, a Notre Dame football fan yelled, “Fighting Irish! We love life! So let’s live!”

A New Orleans man who was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon after an attack headed back down Bourbon Street wearing the same clothes he wore on Jan. 1.

Speaking to the BBC, Jovan Miguel Bell lifted his shirt to show cuts and bruises on his torso, which he said were the result of being trampled.

“Honestly, I’m blessed. God is good,” he said. “Blessings to the victims and their families.”

Mr Bell admitted he was “drunk as hell” at the time of the attack but has a vague memory of what landed him in hospital.

“I’m walking down the street and I hear screams. Noise. Chaos,” he said. “As soon as I turned around, I was hit by (a person) and I fell to the ground. I was stepped on several times.”

Released from the hospital, he went straight to a bar on Bourbon Street during the Sugar Bowl game, where he said he was lucky to escape with minor injuries.

Ahead of the game, state officials assured the public that the city had taken extra security measures.

Brian Williams, a Georgia fan, told the BBC that “the bad guys would have won” if the game had been canceled or postponed after the attack.

“Nowhere will be safer than New Orleans,” he said, pointing to a small group of state police officers on Bourbon Street. – There is nothing to worry about.

Like other football fans in town for the game, Mr Williams said the mood was somber when he arrived in town early on Wednesday.

“It was frustrating. It was weird to be in the city and we couldn’t even get to Bourbon Street,” Mr Williams said. “But this place will be back to normal soon.”

Master P, a New Orleans native and rap singer whose full name is Percy Robert Miller, visited Bourbon Street on Thursday to assure locals that he will do what he can to help the city recover.

“We have to show people that we are not stopping. We will move on,” he said. “Even this evil that has come against us will not stop us.”

Mr Miller described the city as one where people come to “celebrate” and called it “our culture”.

Jefferson County Sheriff Joseph Lopinto told reporters Thursday that the college football game will be safe for fans in town.

“It’s probably going to be one of the safest places in the country,” Mr. Lapinto said. “If my kid wanted to come to the game, I wouldn’t have a problem.”

As the sun set over Bourbon Street Thursday, many locals said they were confident the busy area would soon recover from the attack.

Among them was Darnell Simmons, a 23-year-old brass band member who played at the Bourbon House Oyster Bar.

“A terrible thing happened here,” he said. “But we’re back, we’re here to remember those we lost.”

The bar’s owner, Dickie Brennan, said he felt “incredibly emotional” to hear music was returning to Bourbon Street.

“We got over Katrina. God knows how many hurricanes, oil spills, crime,” he added, referring to the 2005 hurricane that killed more than 1,300 people. “One guy will not stop this beautiful city and special neighborhood.”

“This city is sustainable. We should be.”

Just after 3 a.m. local time on Jan. 1, officials say 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar killed 14 people and injured dozens more when he drove his pickup truck into a crowd on New Year’s Day.

Before he was killed in a shootout with police during the attack, Jabbar had proclaimed his allegiance to the Islamic State group in videos uploaded to social media, the FBI said.

Millions of Americans watch “Sugar House” every year, traditionally on New Year’s Day.

The game, along with the Los Angeles Rose Bowl, is a big draw for the city’s tourists.

The Sugar Bowl dates back to 1935, hosting many of the best coaches, players and teams in college football history.

The Super Bowl, America’s biggest sporting event, is scheduled for February 9 at the same venue in New Orleans as the Sugar Bowl.

Additional reporting by the BBC’s Anna Adams.