As the country was celebrating moving onto 2025 from 2024 last night, tragedy struck. At around 3:00 A.M. EST on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, a man drove an F-150 into a crowd, got into a firefight with police, and incited panic in the French Quarter.
As a result, the Sugar Bowl, the College Football Playoff quarterfinal between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the second-ranked, SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs has been pushed back at least 24 hours.
According to local sources, and then corroborated by national outlets, the game is set to kick off on January 2.
BREAKING: College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl Postponed Due to Terror Attack
Breaking: The CFP quarterfinal between Notre Dame and Georgia will be postponed for 24 hours, Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley announced. More details to come. pic.twitter.com/oHcHQje3Zw
— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2025
As of the publishing of this article, at least 10 people have been killed and at least 35 have been injured in the attack.
The FBI preliminarily identified the suspect in the terror attack as Shamsud Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old United States Army veteran from Texas. He plowed into the New Orleans crowds with a Ford F-150 Lightning and had a black flag fixed to the tailgate. The flag is being investigated to figure out if it has ties to ISIS or any other terror organization.
Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police after his truck struck a lift, incapacitating the vehicle.
His motives are not currently known. However, it was initially reported that he was “hellbent on creating carnage.”
In addition to the physical act of terror with the truck and the shootout, IEDs were found in the truck and were recently discovered in and around the French Quarter.
The FBI is continually investigating the terror attack and more details will come out in time. As of now, the Sugar Bowl is set to kick off.
On what was supposed to be a day full of celebration and plenty of incredible college football, will be marred with mourning and hatred.
UPDATE: The Sugar Bowl will kick off at 4:00 P.M. EST on January, 2.
Per ESPN sources, the Sugar Bowl will kick off tomorrow at 4 pm Eastern. https://t.co/oEjhIjGzDG
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 1, 2025
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