Authorities have postponed Wednesday night’s major sporting event, the Sugar Bowl, after a man drove a truck into a New Year’s crowd in New Orleans. The incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack.
Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said in a press conference that the annual sold-out college football game has been postponed until Thursday night.
Hundley said the decision was in the “best interest” of public safety.
At about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, a man deliberately plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street, a popular spot in the city, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 30 others, authorities said.
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The FBI announced that the suspect was deceased. He was identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen from Texas.
The University of Notre Dame and the University of Georgia were scheduled to face off at approximately 7:45 p.m. local time in the Sugar Bowl, which has been played annually since 1935 and was scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN.
Teams will arrive on the field Thursday at 3:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. ET). Officials said additional safety measures will be put in place.
Hundley said in an earlier statement that the Sugar Bowl committee is “devastated by the horrific events.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” the statement said. “We are in ongoing discussions with authorities at the local, state and federal levels and will update you as we learn more,” he said.
The University of Georgia Athletic Association said all team officials and members of the official team travel party have been debriefed. “We are deeply saddened by the senseless violence that occurred in New Orleans,” the group said in a statement.
