Music brings New Orleans’ French Quarter back to life
A band plays in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Jan. 2, 2025. Via Ashley Riegle/ABC News.
(NEW ORLEANS) — The quiet in New Orleans’ famous French Quarter early Thursday morning was first cut by crews sweeping up trash — then power washing Bourbon Street.
The goal was to reopen it to pedestrians by the time the Sugar Bowl kicked off nearby, 36 hours after the New Year’s Day tragedy.
At 2 a.m. Thursday, mangled metal that once stood as barricades lay scattered on a Bourbon Street that otherwise looked like the aftermath of any other New Orleans celebration — littered with beads, confetti, takeout containers, and bottles of booze.
By 6 a.m., Bourbon Street was clean.
As the sun rose, businesses reopened, and a steady stream of tourists started filling the French Quarter.
Although it was a sunny 60-degree day, a cloud of anxiety weighed on the crowd, and the streets stayed relatively quiet.
Then, around 11 a.m., we heard our first trumpet.
Street musicians, known as buskers, are part of the fabric of New Orleans. Groups of people stopped to listen to The Ohlson Family Roadshow band as they played along Royal Street.
They thanked those who offered tips and implored all to donate to funds for the victims of the terror attack.
Aoleoin Broomfield was scheduled to play after The Ohlson Family Roadshow. Born and raised in New Orleans, she told ABC News she’s happy officials decided to reopen the French Quarter in just one day.
“I still feel like we’re reeling from the aftereffects of Katrina, and even COVID,” she said. “We lost a lot of tourism, and a lot of businesses closed down during COVID. I hate to see another thing happen.”
City and state officials also pushed for a swift return to everyday life in defiance of terrorism fears. Law enforcement deployed additional assets to the French Quarter and Caesars Superdome, according to Louisiana GOP Gov. Jeff Landry.
New barriers were put in place along Bourbon Street as reinforcements and, in a way, reminders.
After Georgia played Notre Dame for a spot in the college football semi-finals, fans would flock to he French Quarter after the final whistle, with a reason to celebrate once again.
A night that ends with street sweepers cleaning up Bourbon Street’s usual litter and a morning that begins with buskers playing in the streets would ensure an even greater victory for the city of New Orleans and its enduring resilience.
“[Music] takes your mind off everything going on, even though it’s temporary,” Broomfield said. “It’s healing,” she told us.
“I just want things to be normal even though it’s not normal. So, I like playing out here just so I can feel a little bit normal,” she said.
(AUGUSTA, Ga.) — One person was shot and killed in an “isolated” shooting in on-post housing at Fort Eisenhower on Saturday, according to the base. The shooter has been apprehended and the base reopened after it had gone into lockdown.
“Fort Eisenhower is actively supporting the victim’s family and assistance will be available to anyone impacted by this tragedy. The safety of our residents and personnel remains our primary concern,” Fort Eisenhower said in a statement Saturday.
No information regarding the victim will be released until next-of-kin has been notified.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Who killed JonBenét Ramsey? The all-new ABC News interview with JonBenét’s father, John Ramsey, airs during 20/20 – premiering Friday, Nov. 13th on ABC Network.
(NEW YORK) — Advancements in DNA technology and a surge of public interest are rekindling hope for breakthroughs in the long-unsolved murder of 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey, a case that has remained a haunting mystery for nearly 28 years.
As new techniques emerge and fresh attention is drawn to the evidence, many are eager for answers that could finally bring closure to this tragic story.
JonBenét, who was found dead in the basement of her Boulder, Colorado, home in 1996, remains frozen in time. Her father, John Ramsey, has endured nearly three decades without justice, answers or his daughter.
“JonBenét’s still my 6-year-old blond-headed daughter who I love dearly,” Ramsey told ABC News. “I did run into one of her little friends on the street who is now, you know, 30 and an adult. And it was, it was a little bit of a shock. This little girl played with JonBenét at our house all the time. And that was a little bit of a jolt to think, wow, that could have been JonBenét.”
Ramsey, now 81 years old, has renewed hope that his daughter’s killer can finally be found. He is confident that advances in DNA technology, including genetic genealogy that has helped to solve several high-profile cold case, are the key to solving this mystery.
“Let’s do a reverse family tree and see if he had a relative living in Boulder in 1996. The interesting thing about these cold cases,” Ramsey said. “The ultimate first arrest came out of nowhere. They were on no one’s radar. They’ve done this horrible crime and nobody said that that guy’s a suspect. That’s what we’re asking the police to do.”
Over the years, Ramsey expressed frustration with the police for not solving his daughter’s case. He was unhappy with being a prime suspect for 12 years and that the department rejected offers of help to find viable evidence. He recently took part in a new Netflix docuseries, “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?” The series dives into lingering mysteries surrounding the tragic case, exploring evidence, interviews and theories that have emerged over the years.
Ramsey collaborated with director Joe Berlinger, who aimed to illuminate what he described as one of the most victimized families in American history.
“Obviously, he wasn’t legally wrongfully convicted, but he was wrongfully convicted,” Berlinger said. “And his wife Patsy — the family were wrongfully convicted in the court of public opinion.”
The popular docuseries ignited a new wave of interest among viewers.
Ramsey is hopeful that recent changes in the Boulder Police Department’s leadership and better communication with his family may lead to a resolution in the case.
The Boulder police department has addressed the recent scrutiny. Last month, the current police chief released a video statement.
“So much of how law enforcement works has changed in the last 30 years,” Stephen Redfearn said. “There are a number of things that people have pointed to throughout the years that could have been done better and we acknowledge that as true. However, it is important to emphasize that while we cannot go back to that horrible day in 1996, our goal is to find JonBenét Ramsey’s killer.”
That tragic day in 1996 began in the picturesque Boulder neighborhood where the Ramsey family lived. On Dec. 26, John and Patsy Ramsey woke up to find that JonBenét, a child beauty queen, was missing.
A handwritten ransom note demanding $118,000 — the exact sum of John’s bonus that year — was discovered on the kitchen stairs. Seven hours later, John found his daughter’s lifeless body in a small basement room.
An autopsy determined JonBenét was sexually assaulted and strangled, and her skull was fractured. Unknown DNA was found under her fingernails and in her underwear.
The Ramseys quickly became suspects, even though no evidence connected them to the crime.
The family has always denied any involvement in JonBenét’s murder. However, the Boulder District Attorney’s Office took 12 years to fully exonerate the Ramseys and their son Burke, who was 9 years old when his sister died.
As weeks went by without any arrests in the case, a media frenzy began to build, fueled by relentless tabloid images of JonBenét participating in beauty pageants.
A number of leads emerged, including a man named John Mark Karr, who confessed to the killing in 2006. However, his DNA did not match the evidence and he was not in Boulder at the time of the murder, so he was eliminated as a suspect. The case remained unsolved.
John Ramsey believes that a cloud still hangs over his family, as he thinks there are people in the country who think he and his late wife, Patsy, who died in 2006, are responsible for JonBenét’s murder.
Investigator Lou Smit, who was initially brought into the case by Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter, came to believe early in his investigation that the Ramseys were innocent. He thought that the police should be looking at the possibility of an intruder.“I’m not saying parents don’t kill their kids … parents do kill their children,” Smit said in his tapes. “But [the police] are trying to say Patsy did it. … Their actions before, during and after [JonBenét’s death] are all consistent with innocent people. … They didn’t do it.”
As the investigation progressed Smit became increasingly concerned that authorities had completely ruled out the chance of an intruder being responsible for JonBenét’s death. As a result, they weren’t searching for evidence that might support this possibility.Smit continued to maintain that an unidentified intruder was responsible for JonBenét’s murder. However, he was running out of time due to his colon cancer diagnosis in 2010.
Before Smit died on Aug. 11 of that year, he diligently compiled a detailed list of persons of interest, hoping that his years of investigative work would eventually pay off. Smit passed his files to his surviving children, including a spreadsheet with 887 names of potential suspects to be investigated.That list is extensive, but Smit’s family is determined to continue their search. Since his death, the team has cleared several individuals from that list, according to Smit’s granddaughter Jessa Van Der Woerd. However, the process is slow due to the time and costs involved in locating each person, obtaining their DNA and testing it.
“We’ve let the killer walk for more than 28 years,” John Ramsey said. “I think it’s imperative that we investigate every credible suspect that’s been provided.”
(GREENSBORO, N.C.) — A North Carolina police officer was fatally shot while responding to a report of a person with a gun inside a supermarket, authorities said.
The shooting occurred Monday morning at a Food Lion in Greensboro, police said.
Greensboro officer Michael Horan was fatally injured after responding to the call about a “man with a firearm” inside the store, police said.
“The circumstances of what led to the shooting are currently being investigated,” Greensboro Assistant Police Chief MJ Harris said during a press briefing on Monday.
The shooting suspect fled the scene and was taken into custody following a high-speed chase, the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office said. There is no threat to the public, Harris said.
No further details on the suspect have been released.
Horan had been a sworn officer with the Greensboro Police Department since early 2018.
“He was an excellent officer,” Harris said. “He had an outstanding reputation inside the department and the community.”
Horan previously served for 18 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, during which he received an award for rescuing a father and son from rip currents, according to the police department.
“Simply put, we are heartbroken,” Greensboro City Manager Trey Davis said at the briefing.
The Greensboro Police Department requested the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to take the lead on the investigation into the shooting.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said that “significant state law enforcement personnel” were sent to help with the response.
A Food Lion spokesperson said they are cooperating with authorities and the store will remain closed amid the investigation.
“Food Lion is deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred at our store,” the spokesperson said. “We express our deepest condolences to the officer’s family and friends.”
“We are providing resources to support our associates during this difficult time,” the spokesperson added.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
