A New Year's celebration turned tragic for a 23-year-old Alabama mother visiting New Orleans with friends.
According to NOLA.com, Alexis Scott-Windham sustained injuries after being struck by a truck and shot during an alleged terrorist attack that killed 13 people on Bourbon Street during the early hours of New Year's Day.
The incident occurred around 3 a.m. when 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove his white pickup truck through crowds of revelers. Scott-Windham was standing outside a pizza restaurant with friends when she noticed the speeding vehicle approaching with its headlights off. Before she could fully escape, the truck ran over her right foot, causing her to fall. In the chaos that followed, she was also shot.
Scott-Windham's friend Brandon Whitsett, 22, was also among those injured in the attack. The Mobile resident described the terrifying sequence of events that unfolded just after she and her friends had spent 20 minutes celebrating on Bourbon Street. Scott-Windham recalls looking around and seeing victims on both sides of her as she tried to process what was happening.
Scott-Windham shared her experience with these words:
I'm like, 'Oh my god, please Jesus, just let me make it out of here. Let me make it home.' That's all I was thinking about, was making it home.
After the attack, she waited approximately 10 minutes for medical attention as paramedics prioritized more severely injured victims. A good Samaritan eventually transported her to University Medical Center.
The FBI later confirmed that Jabbar had an Islamic State flag displayed on his truck and had planted two explosive devices in ice chests throughout the French Quarter before the attack. Law enforcement officers killed Jabbar at the scene. The incident has been classified as a terrorist attack.
Scott-Windham expressed her disbelief about the event:
It's just so disturbing. I don't even know how to explain it because you never would have thought this would have ever happened.
The victim returned to Mobile on Wednesday night with multiple fractures and a bullet still lodged in her foot. Her workplace, Amazon, initially denied her request for leave but later reversed their decision, providing paid time off for her recovery.
The attack has profoundly impacted Scott-Windham, a mother to a one-year-old daughter named Skai. She plans to visit an orthopedist in two weeks to assess her foot injuries. Meanwhile, Whitsett remains at Touro Hospital, recovering from injuries to his leg, shoulder, back, and head.
Two other friends in their group sustained minor injuries during the incident. The attack resulted in 13 fatalities and dozens of injuries, marking one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in New Orleans' history.
The FBI continues their investigation into the attack, examining the explosive devices and gathering information from witnesses who may have seen the blue coolers in the French Quarter before the incident.
The New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street resulted in multiple casualties when Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove his truck through crowds and opened fire. The incident began at approximately 3 a.m. when Jabbar, who had planted explosive devices in ice chests throughout the French Quarter, plowed through revelers with his headlights off before crashing and firing at civilians. Law enforcement responded swiftly, killing Jabbar at the scene, while FBI investigations later revealed the Islamic State connection through a flag found on his vehicle.
