⚡ Ominous Lightning on New Year’s Eve
In the final hours of 2024, lightning bolts dramatically illuminated U.S. landmarks, including the Capitol and Washington Monument. The bizarre display unsettled onlookers, with many seeing it as an ominous sign for the year ahead.

🚚 Attack on Bourbon Street
At around 3:15 a.m. CST on January 1, a Ford F‑150 Lightning plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street, New Orleans. The driver exited and opened fire before police shot him dead.

💔 Casualties and Identity
The attack left 14 victims dead, plus the perpetrator, and injured at least 57 people, including two officers. The assailant, 42‑year‑old Shamsud‑Din Jabbar of Houston, had pledged allegiance to ISIS on social media shortly before the incident.

🚗 Las Vegas Explosion
Hours later, a rented Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Paradise, Nevada, killing the driver and injuring seven. Both the New Orleans and Las Vegas incidents involved rented vehicles and perpetrators with military backgrounds.

🔍 No Proven Link
Despite surface similarities, the FBI found no conclusive connection between the two attacks. The New Orleans assault was classified as domestic terrorism inspired by ISIS ideology, with no confirmed foreign coordination.

🏟 Local & National Response
Louisiana authorities opened reunification centers for victims. The Sugar Bowl, scheduled for later that day, was postponed amid heightened security, with tributes later integrated into Super Bowl LIX’s opening ceremonies.

🌍 Global Condemnation
International leaders, including the UN, Pope Francis, and the British royal family, condemned the New Orleans attack and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families.

🧭 A Grim New Year’s Dawn
The combination of ominous lightning and back‑to‑back deadly incidents made January 1, 2025 feel like a cursed day—one that shook Americans and the world awake at the year’s very start.