American anxiety

By Joshua Yan and Niru Shivakumar Feb. 12, 2025

As 2024 came to an end, fireworks and confetti were not the only explosions to erupt across the nation. The start of 2025 saw a spike in domestic terror incidents across the country, creating a wave of screams to go along with excited New Years’ Day cheers. 

On Jan. 1, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old veteran, drove a rented pickup truck into a large crowd of New Year’s day revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. The attack resulted in 15 deaths, including Jabbar, as well as 57 injuries. The FBI has identified Jabbar as an Islamic State (IS) sympathizer, and they found him to have been researching similar attacks, possibly searching for inspiration. He had closely looked into a deadly car attack in Germany, which aligned with his own attack. An IS flag was found inside of the truck as well. However, the FBI has not found a direct link between Jabbar and the IS, which indicates he may have acted alone.

Several hours after the Bourbon Street attack, active-duty Army member Matthew Alan Livelsberger drove a rented Cybertruck into the valet area of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, where it exploded and injured seven bystanders. Livelsberger—who struggled with PTSD—committed suicide via a gunshot to the head, likely causing the detonation of the 60 pounds of pyrotechnic material and 70 pounds of birdshot within the vehicle. Livelsberger’s journals indicate that he did not intend to harm others in the explosion. In a now-public email sent to a retired U.S. Army officer, Livelsberger claimed that he was being followed for his knowledge about classified weaponized anti-gravity drones.

The attacks shared similarities—both perpetrators had ties to the U.S. army, were staying in an Airbnb and rented their vehicles through Turo—but there is currently no evidence that they were connected. While these attacks have created an unsettling mood over increasing terrorism, statistics show that the United States is much safer now than it was in the years 2016 and 2001, which were the peaks of global terrorism. Thus, the perceived increase may be due to large media coverage rather than a trend.

“The news media often reframes incidents like these in the context of more provocative issues in order to increase engagement, but presenting every issue so sensationally desensitizes the public to violence. People lost lives in these attacks, and we shouldn’t lose focus on that,” Senior Mercury Shih said. 

However overstated the rise in domestic terror may be, the lives stolen in these attacks were very real. Still, the news media’s wording in its coverage of these attacks shows that any event, no matter how tragic, can and will be used as a tool to create mass hysteria or boost revenue.

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About the Contributors

Joshua Yan

Staff Writer

I am a Senior and second year writer for the school newspaper. I enjoy playing piano, playing games with friends, and pen spinning.

Niru Shivakumar

staff writer

Niru Shivakumar is a Senior at Leland High School and is a staff writer for The Charger Account. During her free time, she enjoys playing sports, hanging out with her friends, and listening to music.