The Joan of Arc Parade, an annual event since 2008, honors the French heroine's birthday and marks the beginning of the Carnival season, leading up to Mardi Gras. She is considered the unofficial patron saint, or "Maid of New Orleans."

Hundreds gathered in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter to celebrate the first parade of Carnival season, just blocks from where 14 people were killed five days earlier by a careening pickup.

The driver of the truck who plowed into New Year's Day revelers had pledged support to the so-called Islamic State, the same group the Pulse nightclub shooter had claimed was his inspiration.