Darren Rizzi began his first press conference of the year not with good wishes for 2025, but with his thoughts on the tragedy that had occurred in New Orleans just hours earlier. “Today is a very dark day in our community. I would like to extend my personal, heartfelt condolences to all the victims of this senseless attack in the French Quarter and let them know that my thoughts and prayers are with them.”
The interim coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League searched for words to describe what is difficult to describe. 15 dead and numerous people injured, some seriously, as a result of a 42-year-old’s shooting spree on New Year’s Eve – on the famous Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, right in the heart of New Orleans.
Rizzi spoke of a senseless and difficult to understand act. And, the 54-year-old continued, it is simply difficult to understand why such tragedies keep happening in the USA. He immediately thought of the attack on September 11, 2001. At that time, he lost some close friends and teammates from his high school team, said the interim coach. “Every time something like that happens, it immediately brings back memories,” emphasized the football coach. He is now the father of five children aged 17 to 26. And when he found out about the shooting, Rizzi says, the first thing he did was check where his children were.
In addition to the Saints, the basketball team, New Orleans Pelicans with German world champion Daniel Theis, also expressed their condolences and sympathy to the victims and relatives.
Security questions before the Super Bowl in New Orleans
While the investigation is still ongoing, we are already looking forward to February 9th. On that day, the Super Bowl will be played in the Superdome in New Orleans. The NFL finals are considered the largest one-day sporting event in the world. Several hundred million people are watching – and this time they will be looking at New Orleans.
What impact will the shooting have? Will fans stay away? How safe will this 59th Super Bowl be? Questions that go to Michael Hecht, among others. As coordinator, he is responsible for the infrastructure surrounding the Super Bowl. Hecht spoke of a “nightmare” and that people were “deeply shocked”. But he told the TV station “CBS” that he had confidence in everyone involved in the investigation. The FBI, the state police, the local police.
Hecht pointed out that New Orleans is used to hosting major events such as Mardi Gras or the famous jazz festival with large numbers of visitors. And he didn’t forget to emphasize how resilient the city’s people are. For example, how often they stood together after natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and rebuilt their city. And that, according to Hecht, will happen this time too.