Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

‘I’m Lucky To Be Alive’: Witness Of New Orleans Terror Attack Recounts Chaos That Occurred In Front Of His Eyes

[Screenshot/Fox News]

A witness of the terror attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, recounted the “surreal” moments that occurred right in front of him during a Thursday segment on “Fox & Friends.”

A driver, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar, killed 15 people and injured dozens of others after he plowed his truck into a crowd of pedestrians at an intersection. The witness, Alex Birth-Mitchell, said he recorded the incident to show the public what had happened and to ensure those who knew him that he was alive.

“It was honestly pretty surreal. I took it because I … feel like I didn’t know what was going on. I knew that something was kind of still going on … It was just very stressful [and] hectic,” Birth-Mitchell said. “And I just feel like, I recorded that just for the world to know what was going on. It was crazy, I needed proof for my family to know that I was alive, and I also just wanted to know this is insane, I didn’t know what to do honestly.”

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The witness captured people lying on the street and blood stains in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

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Birth-Mitchell said he wore a wristband that got him readmitted into a club in the area minutes before the incident, saying that if it were not for that wristband, he could have been injured or killed. This event marked the first time that he went out to celebrate New Years.

“If I would have waited no more than a minute, I could’ve been out there hurt, injured, dead. I’m lucky to be alive, the wristbands let us get back in quickly and easily, but I just wanted to go back in and I just didn’t feel like being out on the street anymore,” Birth-Mitchell said. “Maybe that saved me, and I also still feel guilty that I couldn’t help or that other people didn’t make it out. So on one hand you’re happy, on the other hand you feel terrible inside.”

The suspect, who carried an ISIS flag, was reportedly born and raised in Texas and served in the military, according to NOLA.com. The FBI confirmed in a Wednesday statement that Din Jabbar was found with weapons, an improvised explosive device and more explosives around the French Quarter.

The FBI believes Jabbar acted alone in the attack and do not currently believe the incident is connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in front of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.