JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) -Some Mississippians were in New Orleans to ring in the new year, including Mississippi state Senator Michael McClendon from DeSoto County. His family arrived in the city earlier in the day Tuesday ahead of the Billy Strings concert they attended. They never went down to Bourbon Street but they were staying a block away.

“Concert lasted till about 12:15 or 12:30,” he recalled. “Took an Uber back. Got here about 1:30. It’s just normal New Year’s Eve. Everybody having fun… We got in our room and hear sirens about 3:15. Wakes us up. You’re in New Orleans. You you hear sirens. But I started getting calls and texts about 6:00 this morning. You alright? You alright? Click the news, the TV on, and I mean, see this tragedy.”

McClendon was standing on the edge of the yellow crime scene tape that was still blocking Canal Street Wednesday morning when we spoke with him.

“People are just walking around like in disbelief and confusion and you know you can see some anger in people’s faces also,” noted McClendon. “I hurt for the family and the victims… Supposed to be a festive time, then a tragedy like this happens… Puts things in perspective. It’s a crazy world we live in.”

He describes the feeling of being there during what’s been called a terrorist attack as surreal.

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A Mississippi man who was celebrating New Year’s Eve in New Orleans says his friend who dreamed of becoming a nurse was among the people killed in an attack on Bourbon Street.

Zion Parsons, 18, said a vehicle suddenly appeared and he watched it hit his friend, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux. At least 10 people were killed.

Parsons described the crowd scattering and the gruesome aftermath.

“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering” Parsons said.

He said he watched as authorities put a tarp over Dedeaux’s body. He later called Dedeaux’s family to tell them what had happened.

“I hadn’t had time to cry up until I called her mother and she asked me, ‘Where’s my baby’,” Parsons said. “That broke me.”

Officials say residents and visitors should feel safe in New Orleans even as they have repeatedly acknowledged that they are aggressively seeking additional possible suspects in the attack.

During a news conference, Gov. Jeff Landry bristled at a question about how officials were confident that Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar did not act alone, saying, “Why would we tell you?”

But a Louisiana State Police bulletin obtained by The Associated Press and circulated among law enforcement contained a possible clue. The document said surveillance footage captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices.

COPIAH COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) – Poultry from a commercial broiler chicken flock in Copiah County has tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu.

The Mississippi Board of Animal Health announced the news on Tuesday, saying it had received notification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory.

In response, the state veterinarian has quarantined the affected area, and the birds on the property have been “depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease.”

Birds from the flock have not entered the food system, MBAH stated.

According to the agency, avian influenza does not present a food safety risks, and poultry and eggs are safe to eat when handled and cooked properly.

All poultry must reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit as a safety precaution.

MBAH states that avian influenza in birds can cause sudden death; lack of energy or appetite; decreased egg production; soft-shelled or misshapen eggs; swelling or purple discoloration of head, eyelids, comb, hocks; nasal discharge; coughing; sneezing; incoordination; and diarrhea.

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