New Orleans:

A U.S. Army veteran inspired by his allegiance to the jihadist group Islamic State may have acted alone when he killed dozens of people in a truck attack on New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans, the FBI said Thursday. Killed and injured.

FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raya said that despite initial concerns that Shamsuddin Jabbar’s accomplices were still at large, the initial investigation showed that he was likely alone.

“We don’t suspect at this point that anyone else was involved,” Raya said.

However, new evidence emerged detailing the American citizen’s allegiance to Islamic State and his plans to wreak havoc in the attack, which killed 14 people and wounded more than 30 in the French Quarter district. It ended only after he was shot by the police.

“He was 100 percent inspired by ISIS,” Raya said, using an alternative name for the international jihadi group.

Right before the attack, in which Jabbar, 42, rammed a rented Ford F-150 pickup into a crowd, he had posted an online platform “declaring his support for ISIS,” Rhea said. posted several videos on

He also carried a black ISIS flag on the back of the car.

In a video, Jabbar explains that he “originally planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned that the headlines would not focus on the ‘war between believers and unbelievers.’ “

Jabbar planted two homemade bombs in drinks coolers in the streets of the French Quarter, Raya said. He said that the bombs were viable but were saved in time.

Raya clarified that the total death toll from Wednesday’s massacre of 15 includes 14 victims and Jabbar himself, who died after two police officers were injured in the exchange of fire.

The Vegas incident is likely isolated.

The New Orleans attack came hours after a high-profile incident in Las Vegas, where a Tesla Cybertruck detonated outside a hotel owned by US President-elect Donald Trump.

One person was killed and seven injured in the incident. It is unclear whether this was accidental or intentional.

American media cited law enforcement sources as saying that the man who rented the Telsa truck was a current member of the US Army’s Special Forces.

In another echo of the New Orleans incident, the vehicles in both cases were rented through the car-sharing app Toro.

Raya said: “At this point, there is absolutely no connection between the attack in New Orleans and the attack in Las Vegas.”

Cleaning up on Bourbon Street

In New Orleans’ French Quarter, cleaners continue to clear debris. Bourbon Street, at the heart of the area’s popular nightlife and jazz establishments, remained closed to the public.

After a 24-hour delay due to the violence, the city was preparing to stage the big Sugar Bowl college football game at the Superdome late Thursday. The stadium will also host the NFL’s Super Bowl championship game in February.

“We are confident that we can provide a safe and wonderful environment today, and stop the Super Bowl and all of our activities,” said New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.

Trump’s slogan

The horrific incident took place three weeks before Trump took office as president.

Republicans have used the disaster to push their anti-immigrant agenda, despite the killer being an American-born citizen.

Overnight, Trump again linked the attack to “open borders” on social media.

In a lengthy tirade, he criticized law enforcement for “attacking their political adversary, ME, instead of focusing on protecting Americans from violent SCUM from within and without.”

Claiming that “America is falling apart,” Trump said without elaborating: “The CIA must be involved.”

Fundamentalism

Police say Jabbar drove at high speed into the crowd with the intention of causing maximum casualties.

“There were bodies and blood and all the trash,” onlooker Zion Parsons told CNN. “People were scared, running, screaming.”

“It was just horrible, I honestly bawled my eyes out,” 20-year-old tourist Ethan Ayersman told AFP.

Jabbar served in the Army as a human resources specialist and IT specialist from 2007 to 2015 and then served in the Army Reserve until 2020, the Pentagon said.

He was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, an army spokesman said.

Raya said there is now a growing focus on how Jabar became radicalized.

“Those are the things that we’re really going to explore and prioritize as far as the path to radicalization in the coming days,” he said.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

(Translation of tags) New Orleans (T) New Orleans Attack Suspect (T) New Orleans Car Attack ISIS



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