‘I thought I was dead’: Evans man witnesses New Orleans fatal attack

WARNING: Some might find this content disturbing.

EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - As Bourbon Street opens back up to the city of New Orleans, we heard from an Evans man who was just feet away from the scene of the fatal attack.

He provided a first-hand as he witnessed the attack and recorded the harrowing moments as the suspect started shooting as well.

We do want to warn you — a law enforcement officer is shot in the video, and some people may find the footage disturbing.

It was a spur-of-the-moment trip from Augusta to New Orleans for Blaine Carter and his cousins, hoping to ring in the new year and cheer on the Bulldogs.

“The atmosphere was awesome, it’s buzzing. It’s New Orleans,” said Carter.

The video was on Bourbon Street moments before chaos erupted.

“That’s where we’ve seen the gentleman coming down Bourbon Street and the F-150 lightning truck,” said Carter. “And the worst thing that could ever have happened, happens.”

Carter was at the scene, pushing and shoving his way to find cover.

“So, we’re trying to kind of all people are crushing people trying to get out of the way, and then officers are coming in everywhere,” he said.

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“He was shooting out the front window. Driving down the road and then when he was shooting out the front window and decided he was shooting out the side windows into the bars. And then that’s when he started running everybody over. And that’s when he lost control of his car and hit the lift buggy. And then he got out, and when he got out, he started shooting,” said Carter.

“100%, I thought I was dead. I checked myself. We checked ourselves 100 times, so we didn’t get hit by bullets, so they were zipping all by use and bounce balls and everything else.”

Authorities say Shamsud-Din Jabbar intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

All of this unfolded early on New Year’s Day.

The FBI says Jabbar has been identified as a U.S. citizen from Texas who died after a shootout with three officers.

Right now, the death toll is at least 14. Dozens more are injured and getting treatment now.

Before people could react to what’s going on, Carter says it was too late.

“He went from zero to 60 in like two seconds. By the time he got to us, he was going well over 100 miles per hour,” said Carter.

“The mass people, there were 60-something people probably laid out in the street everywhere. They’re just there screaming, screaming everywhere,” he said.

Talking with Carter, he took the video, having no idea what was going on.

“We saw every person get hit. That was the unfortunate thing, seeing people get hit and they were running to get out of the way but couldn’t. He was either shooting them through the front window,” said Carter. “Life didn’t mean nothing to him.”

“Never in a million years thought we’d be in something like this. Never in a million years. Did not see something of this magnitude could happen. Never in a million years,” he said.

He says he’s lucky to be alive and is at the Sugar Bowl now.

Also, the FBI has not linked the New Orleans attack to the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas.

But officials have asked anyone who was on or near Bourbon Street to send any information to the FBI.

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