City, Tournament Issue Statement on New Orleans Incident That Left At Least 10 Dead

[Upated]  Tournament of Roses and City of Pasadena officials moved to reassure the public about Rose Parade security Wednesday morning after a driver killed 15 people by plowing into New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana earlier in the day.

The officials also extended their sympathies to the people of New Orleans.

In the statement, the officials said Pasadena was well prepared to handle the security of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game.

“The Tournament of Roses and the City of Pasadena extend our deepest sympathies to the people of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans following this morning’s tragic events,” the statement read.

“We stand in solidarity with the entire state during this difficult time.”

“The City of Pasadena undergoes months of preparations leading up to the Parade and Game in coordination with our Federal, State, County and Local partners.  We continually train throughout the year with our Tournament of Roses and Rose Bowl Stadium partners for various scenarios.”

“The Parade is a top level Federal event and we have to ability to call in additional resources if the need exists.”

“We have a hard shut down of vehicles along the entire Parade route in addition to very robust vehicle barriers at intersections. Over 1,000 law enforcement personnel are working the Parade and Game.”

In New Orleans, at least 30 were injured and 15 killed by a motorist who police say deliberately drove a pickup truck through a crowd of pedestrians in the city’s crowded French Quarter district.