Here comes Mardi Gras. Will attack on Bourbon Street change plans on Mississippi Coast?
Carnival season starts this weekend in South Mississippi and the terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day has South Mississippi police and krewes considering security plans for Mardi Gras parades over the next two months.
King’s Mardi Gras Parade rolls at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, and Biloxi’s 12th Night celebration will roll at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
After the New Orleans attack that killed 14 people — including two from South Mississippi — and injured dozens more, “Our senses will be heightened and we’ll be alert,” Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said.
This weekend’s parade to Biloxi City Hall is just a short route to close out Christmas and turn on the Mardi Gras lights.
The large parades that attract 80,000 people or more to downtown Biloxi come on and around Fat Tuesday on March 4, and most every community in South Mississippi has at least one parade during Carnival.
The parades are not fun to work, Miller said. People are drinking and every year he worries about kids getting too close to the floats and getting injured. Now there will be a heightened security risk shared by police and parade goers.
“You’ve got to have an alert city and alert officers,” Miller said.
Plans are being reviewed
The cities, counties and state coordinate coverage and share police personnel to keep South Mississippi safe during the Mardi Gras parades, said Marty Griffin, deputy police chief in D’Iberville. The groups meet regularly leading up to Mardi Gras and he said after the events in New Orleans, “We’ll review the parade plan again.”
The North Bay Area Mardi Gras Association parade runs from St. Martin to D’Iberville on March 2 and is more than a mile long area to protect. Griffin tells the parade goers, “Have fun, enjoy yourself,” but he cautions them to take notice of their surroundings.
The New Orleans’ attack shows it can happen anywhere.
“This is certainly a reminder that we’ve got to be sharp,” said Kenny Glavan, who looks at the benefits of the parades and the threats of danger from his perspective as a Biloxi councilman, a leader in the Krewe of Neptune and an executive with Margaritaville Resort Biloxi and other Leisure & Lodging Investments resorts in South Mississippi. He’s also a tourism commissioner with Coastal Mississippi.
People are scared
From a business standpoint, Glavan said Thursday, some people cut their vacation short in New Orleans and came to Biloxi. Either they couldn’t stay in their hotel another day when the Sugar Bowl was postponed until Thursday, he said, “or they just didn’t feel safe.”
The Krewe of Neptune has a regular meeting scheduled for next week, Glavan said, and he’s sure the New Orleans attack will be discussed and organizers will look at ways to make the day and night parades more secure.
The city already took steps to make the parades safer, changing the route so the parades don’t have to cross the railroad track at the end and keeping the I-110 corridor open, Miller said.
Not everyone is in favor of the change, he said, but with the same amount of security in place, the city can cover places on the route they couldn’t patrol as closely before the route was altered.
The parades already have a lot of security built in, Miller said, and Harrison County Sheriff Department’s helicopter and pilot are available to Biloxi to add another layer of safety.
“You can get a real different perspective when in the helicopter than on the ground,” he said.
Parade on and follow these tips
The crowds who show up at the Mardi Gras parades need to be especially conscious this year, Glavan said.
“We don’t want to create a large sense of phobia,” Glavan said, and the city and parade goers can’t shut down in fear.
“We’re looking forward to a great Mardi Gras this year,” he said.
The Biloxi website lists tips for keeping safe before during and after the parades, and Miller says these are the most important:
▪ Be vigilant
▪ Know were police officers are
▪ Keep your family close to you, since kids seem to wander during the parades
▪ Report anything unusual to the police
This story was originally published January 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
