Since the 2025 Bourbon Street terror attack, the Historic New Orleans Collection has been compiling oral histories related to the event. Gonzales native Brittany Francois is president of the Fourteens Foundation, a nonprofit which seeks to create a permanent memorial to honor the victims.
She’s also a survivor of the attack.
After ringing in the New Year with friends, Francois was struck while crossing Bourbon Street when a man plowed a pickup truck into the crowd, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more. She describes her experience of the attack and its aftermath in this edition of NOLA Life Stories.