No Pinoy hurt in U.S. attacks

Two terror incidents on 1 January that happened in New Orleans and Las Vegas did not affect any Filipinos, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed yesterday.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega spoke with Daily Tribune on Saturday, saying, “By God’s grace, there were no (Filipinos hurt), according to the report of our consul general in Houston, which oversees Louisiana.”

In New Orleans, a driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd celebrating the New Year, injuring 35 and killing 14 people, including a single mother from the Louisiana town of Metairie and a young football player.

The suspect was identified as 42-year-old Texas resident Shamsud-Dim Jabbar. Reports stated that after hitting as many people as possible with the truck, he opened fire in an apparent attempt to harm more individuals but was killed in a shootout with police.

Hours later in Las Vegas, Nevada, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in front of the Trump Hotel, injuring seven people.

The suspect, identified as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, was a member of the US Army Special Forces. Livelsberger reportedly shot himself in the head before initiating the blast.