New Orleans Attacker Evaded a Security System Under Repair

The Texas man who rammed into crowds in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year’s Day drove onto a sidewalk and around a patrol car that had been parked to block road access to Bourbon Street.

Officials confirmed during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon that security bollards designed to prevent vehicles from hitting pedestrians were not in place at the site because they were being replaced as part of the city’s preparations to host the Super Bowl next month.

Until new bollards could be installed, parked police cars and other barriers, as well as patrolling officers, were being used as safeguards.

“We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and they still got around,” said Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick of the New Orleans Police Department. She added, “We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it.”

Capt. Lejon Roberts, the police commander who oversees the French Quarter as part of the city’s Eighth District, said that the police car had been “strategically placed” to prevent access to Bourbon Street, where the pickup slammed into New Years revelers, killing at least 10 people and injuring about 35.

Asked about how officials regarded the possibility of someone driving around the police car, Captain Roberts said, “It wasn’t something we expected to account for.”

As federal and state officials investigated the attack, they said part of their focus would be on how the driver was able to barrel into the crowd. Gov. Jeff Landry said, “We intend to be transparent in assessing any defects that may have existed in the system so that we can address it.”

Mr. Landry issued an order declaring a state of emergency, already drafted in anticipation of the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras celebrations next month, to unlock additional resources. And he said he had called in a military police company from the Louisiana National Guard — about 100 people — to provide law enforcement support.

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent for the F.B.I. in New Orleans, said that officials did not believe that the driver — identified as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, of Texas — was “solely responsible” for the attack. She urged anyone who had contact with him in the prior 72 hours to reach out to law enforcement.

“We’re aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates,” she said.

Police officers and dogs were sweeping the streets of the French Quarter, looking for any suspicious devices. The Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and the University of Georgia, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed for 24 hours, and the police said that the venue, the Superdome, would remain under lockdown until the football game went forward on Thursday.

Mr. Landry said that he planned to attend the game, in part to demonstrate that the city and the stadium remained safe and that New Orleans would not be intimidated. Asked how he had the confidence that the game would be safe, he declared, “I’m going to be there.”

Kate Selig contributed reporting.