By Jeff Mason

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday visited the scene of the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans that left 14 people dead and dozens more injured when a A US Army veteran rammed a truck into a crowd of revelers.

Biden and his wife, Jill, stopped on Bourbon Street to pay their respects to those who died there before heading to a church for a memorial service. The first lady placed a bouquet of flowers in front of a makeshift memorial. The president stood with his wife and crossed himself.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the Texas man who drove the truck and died in a shootout with police, was an Army veteran struggling to get through a recent divorce but showed no signs of anger toward those week before the attack, according to his half-brother.

The FBI said the 42-year-old, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group, acted on his own.

Biden, a Democrat who left office on January 20, met with families, survivors and local law enforcement affected by the attack and then spoke at a service at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, King of France.

“I know that events like this are difficult, the shock and pain is more raw… It’s not the same. We know what it’s like to lose a piece of our soul,” Biden said in attendees.

Biden, like other presidents before him, has made numerous trips during his time in office to comfort communities after natural disasters or acts of violence.

The president’s first wife and infant daughter died in a car accident, and one of his grown sons died of cancer.

“If there’s one thing we know, New Orleans defines strength and resilience,” he said.