Beyond Bullets

The growing threat of vehicle based attacks

Publication

Blair, J.P., Martaindale, M.H., Tanksley, P.T. et al. Active Attacks with Motor Vehicles: A Short Report and Case Study of the 2025 New Year’s Day Attack in New Orleans, LA.. Am J Crim Just (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-025-09806-x

What Was the Question?

This article tackles a specific and growing concern in the realm of mass violence: vehicle-based attacks. It takes as its starting point the New Year's Day 2025 incident in New Orleans, where a driver intentionally drove into a crowd, killing 14 people and injuring at least 57. We use this event to raise broader questions: How common are these types of attacks? What do we know about them? And what can be done to prevent them? We place the New Orleans case in the context of a larger pattern of attacks - many with ties to terrorism - and explore how these incidents unfold.

How Did We Look at It?

To explore these questions, the we used a case study approach centered on the New Orleans attack. We paired this with descriptive analysis drawn from activeattackdata.org - a publicly available dataset maintained by ALERRT that tracks incidents of mass violence in the U.S., including those involving vehicles. We also drew on international examples to offer broader context and compared domestic trends to global patterns.

What Did They Find?

• Vehicle-based attacks are less common than firearm-based attacks but can result in high casualty counts.

• These attacks are often carried out by individuals aligned with or inspired by terrorist ideologies.

• The New Orleans case highlights how little advance warning or opportunity for intervention these attacks often provide.

• The data point to a need for increased public awareness and proactive environmental design—such as installing bollards, barriers, or well-placed street furniture—to help deter or disrupt vehicle-based attacks.

• The chart below shows where attacks occurred and the casualties they caused

So What?

This study pushes the conversation about active attacks beyond its usual focus on firearms. It highlights vehicle-based attacks as a serious threat that deserves more attention. By combining a real-world case with data-driven analysis, the article offers practical takeaways for city planners, law enforcement, and policymakers. It makes the case for anticipating a wider range of threats and adapting prevention strategies accordingly - especially in public spaces with heavy foot traffic.

My $.02

Being that I am one of the authors of this report, I don’t have much to add other than we just saw another ramming attack in California. This just further highlights the need to take the potential for these attacks seriously and design public spaces to prevent them.