Terror in New Orleans: Police hunt for clues about how ISIS-inspired suspect could plow into crowd killing 15
At least 35 injured as a driver – identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US citizen – plowed his truck into a crowd celebrating New Year before firing a weapon. The FBI is now investigating the mass casualty event as an act of terrorism.
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Your support makes all the difference.Terror filled Bourbon Street in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day after a terrorist drove his truck - with an ISIS flag on the back - into crowds, leaving at least 15 dead and 35 hurt.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the FBI confirmed that 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar was the deceased suspect, adding that he was a U.S. citizen from Texas.
The bureau also noted that Jabbar was driving a Ford pickup truck that he appeared to have rented and they were investigating how he came into possession of the vehicle.
Addressing the nation from Camp David, President Joe Biden said, “The FBI also reported to me that mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he’s inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill.”
Investigators say that an improvised explosive device was found in the truck with several others also discovered in the French Quarter.
“An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” the FBI added. “Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter. The FBI’s Special Agent Bomb Technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable and they will work to render those devices safe.”
The bureau further said that it was the lead investigative agency and was “working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”
“We do not believe Jabbar was solely responsible. We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his own known associates,” Alethea Duncan, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the FBI’s New Orleans office, said at a press conference.
“We are working to confirm how the subject came in possession of this vehicle,” she added. “The FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.”
According to the Associated Press, investigators are reviewing video that shows three men and a woman placing an IED in connection with the attack. Police have not confirmed that detail.
Federal law enforcement officials noted that Jabbar had previously served in the U.S. military.
“We believe he was honorably discharged, but we are working through this process, figuring out all this information,” Duncan added. Jabbar also had several improvised explosive devices loaded in an ice chest in the truck, she said. “As of now, two IEDs have been found and rendered safe,” Duncan stated.
“The mission now is to facilitate support and coordinate safety procedures to keep our residents and our visitors safe,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said on Wednesday afternoon, calling on people not to go near the scene “if there is no essential need to do so.”
In the at-times chaotic Wednesday afternoon press conference, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry added he was announcing an emergency declaration to coordinate federal, state and local resources.
“Ironically, in preparation for the Super Bowl, I had intended to issue an emergency declaration tomorrow so that we could bring all our federal, state and local agencies to bear in preparation for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, but because of the events today, I have amended that emergency declaration and issued it today,” Landry said. “That declaration would allow federal, state and local partners to bring all resources necessary to get this city safe.”
New Orleans Superintendent of Police Anne Kirkpatrick touted the city’s ability to overcome challenges in the past, all while boasting about the dropping murder rate in New Orleans. “This city has been tried by fire before, but fire purifies. Fire makes things stronger. We have a plan. We know what to do. We are going to get these people. There is a path forward,” she declared.
At the same time, Kirkpatrick seemed flustered when pressed by reporters on the malfunctioning mechanical barricades around Bourbon Street that had initially been installed in 2017 following the 2016 Nice terror attack and a spate of drunken driving incidents in the French Quarter.
The deceased suspect was able to avoid the bollard during the attack by merely driving on the sidewalk.
“This particular terrorist drove around onto the sidewalk and got around the hard target. We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and they still got around,” Kirkpatrick said, adding: “We knew these were malfunctioning. So we did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it.”
Additionally, the commissioner overseeing Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl matchup between Georgia and Notre Dame — which brought in tens of thousands of fans to the city —announced that the highly anticipated college football playoff game would be delayed until Thursday.
New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams told MSNBC just before the presser that the game would be postponed. Law enforcement had already locked down the Superdome for security sweeps after the attack and told workers with offices at the stadium — including officials with the Sugar Bowl — not to come to work until further notice.
“All parties agree that it’s in the best interests of everybody and of public safety that we postpone the game for 24 hours. Work is fast about to set up a safe and efficient and fun environment for tomorrow night. There will be more details on that in the coming hours, but for now that’s the plan,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said.
Earlier in the day, Kirkpatrick suggested that the game would go off as scheduled, saying that she wants fans to “continue enjoying” the city. “We are going to make sure our routes and our Superdome are safe today for the game, and yet we had this tragic event and we’re sorry to everyone, but we do want you to go about the day, just stay away from Bourbon Street,” she said.
New Orleans Emergency Medical Services transported more than 30 people to University Medical Center, Touro Hospital, East Jefferson General Hospital, Ochsner Medical Center Jefferson Campus and Ochsner Baptist Campus.
In a press conference on Wednesday morning, Cantrell described the incident as a “terrorist attack,” urging residents to stay away from the area as it was still an active scene.
Sparking confusion, an FBI official initially said the tragedy was not a terrorist event before the FBI clarified that they were investigating the mass casualty event as terrorism.
“This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others,” the FBI said in a statement after Wednesday morning’s press conference. “The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”
“Last night, we had over 300 officers out here, and because of the intentional mindset of this perpetrator – who went around our barricades in order to conduct this. He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick added. She added that most of the casualties appeared to be local residents of the city and not tourists. “This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could.”
The Department of Homeland Security is coordinating with local, state and federal law enforcement following the attack, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Wednesday morning. “This abhorrent attack is being investigated by the FBI as an act of terrorism,” he added. “Our hearts break for the families of those whose lives were lost and our prayers are with those recovering from injuries they suffered. We are grateful to the first responders for their bravery and urge the public to be vigilant.”
Additionally, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is on the scene and “assisting our partners,” the agency stated.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has already demanded that Mayorkas and outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray appear before Congress and publicly testify in the wake of the attack. “When the 119th Congress convenes next week, and you assume leadership of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, I urge you to immediately call Mayorkas and Wray to publicly testify prior to their departure from office,” the Republican lawmaker said in a letter. “They must give a full account of this attack and any departmental failures related to the incident.”
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“I have been continually briefed since early this morning by federal law enforcement leadership and my homeland security team, including Secretary of Homeland Security Ali Mayorkas, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, and the Mayor of New Orleans regarding the horrific incident that occurred there overnight,” President Joe Biden said in a statement late Wednesday morning. “The FBI is taking the lead in the investigation and is investigating this incident as an act of terrorism. I am grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury. I have directed my team to ensure every resource is available as federal, state, and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind.”
The president added: “I will continue to receive updates throughout the day, and I will have more to say as we have further information to share. In the meantime, my heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday. There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
President-elect Donald Trump also issued a statement on his Truth Social platform around the same time, using the mass casualty event as an opportunity to blast at Democrats and the mainstream press while linking the attack to migrants. In the end, the suspect turned out to be an American citizen and veteran.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” he wrote. “The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before. Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department. The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
At the time of the incoming president’s statement, no information had been released about the attacker’s identity. Furthermore, recent data released by the FBI showed that violent crime was actually down about 3 percent nationally from 2022 to 2023, and murders were down 12 percent.
On top of that, according to the FBI’s quarterly data, New Orleans itself saw a decline in violent crime in 2024.
ABC News reported that the Ford F-150 Lightning truck used in the attack was rented through a car-sharing app, according to Rodrigo Diaz, the truck’s owner.
Diaz told ABC that he was talking to the FBI about the individual and declined further comment. “My husband rents cars through the Turo app,” Diaz’s wife told ABC News. “I can’t tell you anything else. I’m here with my kids, and this is devastating.”
Famous for its nightlife, Bourbon Street was still teeming with revelers celebrating New Year’s Eve when the vehicle drove into the crowd early Wednesday morning.
One person who says they witnessed the incident described it on social media as the “most horrific thing I’ve ever seen.” They said they saw a “truck crashing through the barricades” before seeing it “run into a crowd” and “people flying as it hit them.”
“All I seen was a truck slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk,” another witness told CNN shortly after the incident, saying he heard gunshots being fired. “A body came flying at me.”
“Everyone started yelling and screaming and running to the back, and then we basically went into lockdown for a little bit and then it calmed down but they wouldn’t let us leave,” witness Whit Davis also told CNN. “When they finally let us out of the club, police waved us where to walk and were telling us to get out of the area fast. I saw a few dead bodies they couldn’t even cover up and tons of people receiving first aid.”
With the death toll rising from 10 to 15 on Wednesday afternoon, some families have already confirmed that their loved ones had been killed in the New Year’s Day massacre.
Tiger Bech, a former Princeton football player, was among the victims. A wide receiver and All-Ivy League performer, the 28-year-old was taken to a New Orleans hospital before succumbing to his critical injuries.
Jack Bech, Tiger’s younger brother and star for TCU’s football team, reacted to the tragic news on Wednesday. “Love you always brother,” he tweeted. “You inspired me everyday now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”
Reggie Hunter, a 37-year-old father of two, was described by his family as a devoted dad who loved to work out.
The mother of 18-year-old Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, who was hit by the “barreling truck” amid the “commotion” and “banging,” said her daughter “was the sweetest person.”
The intersection of Canal and Bourbon streets is one of the gateways to the French Quarter, and Canal is a major thoroughfare that extends from the Mississippi River a few blocks away all the way to Lake Pontchartrain and connects neighborhoods in between. Parallel to Bourbon are all the other entryways into the Quarter, busy wit foot traffic at all hours but especially on New Year’s Eve — rivaled only by Mardi Gras in terms of how many people are stuffed into the street. Traffic in that downtown area is often a nightmare during big events.
The city installed protective bollards at several intersections through Bourbon, making it partially pedestrian-only. However, those heavy-duty bollards were not installed at the Canal entrance. Law enforcement officials said the driver drove around barricades and sped down a sidewalk before turning into the street.
“Those barricades were not up, period,” New Orleans resident Jimmy Cothran told CNN. “They had the flimsy orange ones that you could just push over with your finger. We actually thought it was kind of odd.”
Asked whether it was a good idea to do repairs on the bollards in hindsight of the attack, City Council president Helena Moreno — who recently launched a mayoral campaign — told local news station WWL that “those should have happened way long ago” and questioned, “why are those repairs happening so late in the game.”
“This person was determined … to inflict harm, pain, death on Bourbon [Street],” she added. “Even if the bollards were functioning … he could have picked another time. This was a terrorist who was determined to take action.”
The New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans comes two weeks after a driver rammed into a crowd of shoppers at a busy German Christmas market, leaving five people dead and hundreds more injured.
In that incident, a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia killed four women and a nine-year-old boy after he plowed his car through a market in the German city of Magdeburg. Over 40 others were critically injured in that attack. The assailant, identified as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, had been in Germany since 2006 and reportedly sympathized with the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
Alex Woodward contributed reporting
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