A gruesome attack on revellers celebrating New Year in New Orleans thrust US domestic security back into the spotlight less than a month before Donald Trump is sworn in as president.
The incidents, which are both being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), prompted statements from Trump, US President Joe Biden and other senior US officials. Elon Musk also weighed in, saying that the Cybertruck explosion appeared likely to be terrorism and that it could be linked to the New Orleans attack.
Trump said his incoming administration would help New Orleans as it investigates and recovers from what he called an act of “pure evil”.
Trump, who is set to be sworn in on January 20, has often blamed undocumented immigrants for crime in the US. The suspect in Wednesday’s attack in New Orleans was an American and served in the US Army.