NEW ORLEANS, La. - Morgan County resident Danny Tillery and his family walked on Bourbon Street around midnight, a few hours before Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a truck into a crowd celebrating New Year’s Eve.
When Tillery woke up on Jan. 1, he learned about how Jabbar had killed more than a dozen people and injured 30 others. He had dozens of texts from friends, family members, and others to see if his family was alright.
“I was just thankful that, obviously, we weren’t on Bourbon Street when it happened. Of course, I [wake up], turn on the news, and see everything that happened,” Tillery said. “We literally missed it by two hours.”
The Tillerys were in New Orleans with three other families from Morgan County to root on Georgia against Notre Dame. They’d also traveled to enjoy what the city had to offer, but sadly, the attack ruined their plans.
Luckily, everyone left unharmed. Tillery said that on New Year’s Eve, his family and others attended a concert with fireworks in Jackson Square.
“We went to the French Quarter on New Year’s Eve to Jackson Square and watched the concert and the fireworks,” he said. “It was super crowded down there, and later, we learned that [Jabbar] had planted some cooler bombs there as well. So we watched the fireworks and celebrated New Year’s at Jackson Square in front of the cathedral, and then we stayed there about 25 to 30 minutes letting it clear out.”
After the concert and fireworks show, Tillery and his family made their way down Bourbon Street.
“We walked down Bourbon slowly, taking it all in. Just people-watching,” Tillery recalled. “My daughter and I walked over the barrier that was at the end of Bourbon Street, where the police car was parked. We actually talked about what it was for, which was pretty crazy. And then we walked down Canal Street, saw a couple of fights, and were like, ‘Man, it’s pretty crazy out here tonight. We probably need to get back to our hotel.’” It turned out to be the right move.
Later, on the morning of Jan. 1, the Tillery family went to eat lunch around the University of Tulane’s campus. That is when they decided to return to their hotel, pack their bags, and head home to Morgan County.
“I could tell during lunch that my daughter’s persona and outlook on everything changed, and she started to get a little nervous,” Tillery said. “And I would have felt terrible if something had happened to them. I could just tell they wanted to go, so that was the right move for us and our family.”
Another Lake Country resident, Jason Easley, was in New Orleans.
Easley traveled from Greensboro to root for Georgia. He and his wife, Jessica, also stayed near Bourbon Street. Like the Tillery family, the Easleys were back at their hotel when the attack occurred, which was around 3 a.m.
“We were in bed around 1 a.m., but we woke up to numerous text messages checking on us,” Easley said.
The Easleys walked around the French Quarter the morning after the attack, taking in the scene. They saw the aftermath of Jabaar’s attack and the damage caused to Bourbon Street. They also felt the heavy police presence.
“There was such a strong police presence of local law enforcement and the military,” Easley said.
The Easleys still felt ‘uneasy’ because even the police didn’t know how many bombs were planted around the city.
“It’s in the back of your mind that something like that could be detonated anywhere. It could be hidden,” Easley said. “We were a little uneasy about that, no doubt. Just walking around anywhere for the rest of the trip, that was what we were always thinking.”
Jason and Jessica originally planned to stay until Friday, so they attended the Sugar Bowl, which was moved from Jan. 1 to Jan. 2.
Easley said security was tight when he entered Caesar’s Superdome and thought the mood before the game was “off.”
“It’s hard thinking about all those people that are gone and all those who are mourning. And the people that were injured, too, going through what they were going through at the hospitals,” Easley said. “It just changed the whole trip.”