New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick had a message for those who were on the fence about attending Super Bowl LIX next month in the wake of a terrorist attack in the city.
Kirkpatrick told Fox News contributor Ted Williams during “Fox & Friends” on Thursday that football fans should still plan to attend the big game on February 9.
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New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick makes a statement after a vehicle plowed into a crowd at the New Orleans Canal and Bourbon Street on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
“They should plan to come,” Kirkpatrick said. “Just like today's Sugar Bowl will be held this afternoon. Here in New Orleans we have proven time and time again that we can provide safe environments. Look at the Taylor Swift concert that was just a few weeks ago – an incredible atmosphere of fun ., incredible environment where they can and know they are safe.
“This is a terrorist. The terrorist will be hell-bent on creating massacres and destroying, but we, as a city and as a law enforcement community, have already proven over time that we can handle and manage these large crowds.”
Kirkpatrick vowed to correct any security lapses in preparation for the NFL's biggest day of the year.
Georgia fans at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Street. The CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinals between Georgia and Notre Dame were postponed after an attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on January 1, 2025. (Images by Geoff Burke-Imagn)
GEORGIA, NOTRE DAME FANS MAKE SUGAR BOWL DECISION AS GAME IS POSTPONED DUE TO TERRORIST ATTACK
“The Super Bowl is still in play,” he added. “We're going to toughen our target. We're going to correct any kind of gaps that have been there; they will be corrected. And today you will see, you will experience what we can do.”
The NFL said it still believed fans would experience a safe Super Bowl.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of the devastating incident in New Orleans,” the NFL said in a statement Wednesday.
“The NFL and the local host committee have been working collaboratively with local, state and federal agencies for the past two years and have developed comprehensive safety plans,” the statement continued. “We are confident that attendees will have a safe and enjoyable experience at the Super Bowl.”
A state trooper walks to his vehicle at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Street. The CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinals between Georgia and Notre Dame were postponed after an attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on January 1, 2025. (Images by Geoff Burke-Imagn)
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The Superdome was the site of the Super Bowl after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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