“The US Army veteran who drove the car A pickup truck in a throng of New Year’s revelers acted alone,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Thursday (Jan 2, 2025), reversing its position a day earlier that he may have had others help carry out the deadly attack. cooperated with, which authorities say was an “act of terrorism. Influenced by the Islamic State group”.

The FBI also revealed that Shamsuddin Jabbar, a US citizen from Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account in the hours before the attack in which he linked himself to the Islamic State and told viewers that He has joined a militant group. before last summer.

“This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act,” said Christopher Raya, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division.

14 people were killed in the attack, including an 18-year-old woman who aspired to become a nurse. Officials initially put the death toll at 15, including Jabbar, who was killed in a shootout with police.

Authorities said on Wednesday (Jan 1, 2025) they were looking for additional possible suspects in the attack, which occurred after Jabbar drove around a police cordon and into a crowd.

But Mr. Raya said the current assessment is that he acted alone, without any conspiracy.

Authorities recovered one The black flag of the Islamic State in the truckand President Joe Biden said he was told by the FBI that Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, had posted videos on social media hours before the massacre that appeared to show his support for the militant group. was motivated by and expressed desire to kill.

He was shot and killed by police, and the FBI said on Wednesday (January 1, 2025) that it believed he did not act alone. Investigators found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle, along with other explosive devices in the French Quarter.

Officials were motivated to serve a search warrant and spent hours at a Houston-area home believed to be connected to the investigation. But as of Thursday (January 2, 2025) morning, no additional arrests had been made, and it was unclear whether the FBI was still actively searching for more suspects.

The riot turned the festive Bourbon Street into a horrifying scene of maimed victims, bloodied corpses and passers-by fleeing for safety inside nightclubs and restaurants. Apart from the dead, dozens of people were also injured.

Zion Parsons, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi, said he saw the truck “throwing people around like a movie scene, throwing people up in the air.”

“Bodies, bodies up and down the street, everybody screaming and yelling,” said Parsons, whose friend Nkira Dido was among the dead.

But as of Thursday (January 2, 2025), a still city was moving back to normal operations. According to an official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, authorities completed the operation at the scene early in the morning, with the last bodies recovered. removed, and Bourbon Street was to reopen sometime later in the day. Associated Press.

The Sugar Bowl college football game between Notre Dame and Georgia, originally scheduled for Wednesday night (Jan. 1, 2025) was postponed a day in the interest of national security, still Thursday. (January 2, 2025) was in progress. And the city plans to host the Super Bowl next month.

Federal authorities were investigating Jabbar’s possible ties to any terrorist organizations as they looked for additional clues about what is believed to be IS influence on US soil over the years. It is the deadliest attack.

Meanwhile, local officials have faced more questions about security protocols in the city that led to the attack, the latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon of mass violence.

Authorities said Jabbar drove a rental pickup truck onto the sidewalk, going around a police car that was stopped to block traffic. A barrier system was being repaired to prevent vehicle attacks in preparation for the Super Bowl.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick said Jabbar was killed by police after getting out of the truck and opening fire on responding officers. Three officers fired back. Two have been shot and are in stable condition.

The driver “defeated” safety measures to protect pedestrians and was “bent on causing carnage and harm,” Kirkpatrick said.

“This is not just an act of terrorism. It is evil,” he added.

Also on Wednesday (January 1, 2025), were there. Deadly explosions in Honolulu and outside a Las Vegas hotel Owned by President-elect Donald Trump. Biden said the FBI was looking into whether the Las Vegas blast was connected to the New Orleans attack but had “nothing to report” as of Wednesday evening (January 1, 2025).

A photo circulating among law enforcement officials shows a bearded mobster wearing camouflage next to a truck after killing him. Intelligence Bulletin obtained by A.P He said he was wearing a ballistic jacket and a helmet. The FBI said the flag of the Islamic State group was on the trailer of the truck.

“For those who don’t believe in objective evil, you only have to look at what happened in our city this morning,” said U.S. Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana. “If that doesn’t trigger the gag reflex of every American, every fair-minded American, I’ll be very surprised.”

Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, served on active duty in human resources and information technology and was deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserves in 2015 and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant in 2020.

Hours after the attack, several coroner’s office vans were parked at the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, cordoned off by police tape and surrounded by crowds of tourists standing around, some in a maze of blockades. They were trying to carry their belongings.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry urged people to avoid the area, which remains an active crime scene.

“We looked out our front door and saw caution tape and dead silence, and it’s scary,” said Tessa Cundiff, an Indiana native who moved to the French Quarter a few years ago. “It’s not what we fell in love with, it’s sad.”

Mr. Biden, speaking at a presidential retreat at Camp David, addressed the victims and the people of New Orleans: “I want you to know that I grieve with you. Our nation grieves with you as you mourn. are and when you heal.

FBI officials have repeatedly warned about the threat of international terrorism because of it. Israel Hamas war. In the past year, the agency has foiled other potential attacks, including in October when it arrested an Afghan man in Oklahoma in connection with an alleged Election Day plot that targeted large crowds.