by Greg LaRose, Louisiana Illuminator
January 2, 2025
NEW ORLEANS — The man who sped down Bourbon Street early New Year’s Day in a pickup truck, killing at least 14 people and injuring 37 more, is believed to have acted alone in the terror attack, an FBI official said.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old military veteran from Texas, was killed in a shootout with police after barrelling down nearly three blocks of the French Quarter’s main thoroughfare. Two New Orleans police officers were wounded in the exchange.
Christopher Raia, the FBI’s deputy director of counterterrorism, said Jabbar did not have any accomplices, stressing that it is still “early in the investigation.” He also said there is “no definite link” between the New Orleans attack and Wednesday’s explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas.
An active member of the U.S. Army was killed inside the truck in that incident outside the Trump International Hotel.
Raia joined Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other officials for a news conference Thursday morning at Benson Tower.
“This was an act of terrorism,” Raia said. “It was premeditated and an evil act.”
The FBI has received more than 400 tips from New Orleans and outside the state in regards to the Bourbon Street incident, and hundreds of hours of surveillance video has been recovered from the French Quarter and other locations, Raia said.
Video footage shows Jabbar placing a homemade bomb at the intersection of Bourbon and Orleans streets and another two blocks away. The improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were placed inside small coolers, and investigators want to speak to anyone who saw them in the French Quarter.
Raia said the video also shows other people noticing the coolers, but they are not suspected of being involved in the terror attack.
The FBI would like to speak to these people and any other witnesses, and investigators plan to explore Jabbar’s life history, Raia said.
“We are looking at everything in his life,” he said.
Two other suspicious items in the French Quarter were determined not to be explosive devices. Raia confirmed bomb-making materials were found at a short-term rental home roughly two miles from where the terror attack occurred. It is believed this was where Raia assembled the devices. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms continue to investigate the house.
ATF Special Agent in Charge Josh Jackson confirmed that a small fire at the rental home in the St. Roch neighborhood ignited after the terror attack and said investigators are still on the scene to gather more evidence.
The Bourbon Street crime scene has been cleared, according to Raia. The New Orleans Police Department will determine when closed portions of the French Quarter will be reopened to the public. The city is hosting thousands of college football fans in town for the Sugar Bowl, which was rescheduled from Wednesday night to 3 p.m. Thursday.
Cleaning crews have swept up the crime scene and trash from other areas of the French Quarter that have been closed off since Wednesday morning. Vehicle access will first be provided to delivery trucks.
Videos detail timeline, background
Jabbar rented the Ford F-150 pickup truck he used in the attack Monday in Houston and drove to New Orleans on New Year’s Eve. From just after 1 a.m. Jan. 1 until just minutes before he turned onto Bourbon Street, Jabbar posted five videos on his Facebook page in which he claimed his support for Islamic State, Raia said.
Police recovered an ISIS flag that was hung from a plastic flagpole on the trailer hitch of Jabbar’s truck. In one of the videos, Jabbar said he “joined” Islamic State before the summer, according to Raia.
“Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers,’” Raia said.
Investigators have also recovered three cellphones and two laptop computers linked to Jabbar.
Raia encouraged anyone with information about Jabbar or the terror attack to use the 1-800-CALL-FBI tip line or share information online at fbi.gov/BourbonStreetattack.
This is a developing story.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: [email protected].
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