Federal law enforcement is investigating a mass casualty event in New Orleans as an “act of terrorism” after a truck was driven into crowds on a popular nightlife street in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
The FBI, which is leading the investigation, said Wednesday the man who plowed into New Orleans’s famed Bourbon Street in the city’s French Quarter neighborhood is dead after killing 10 people and injuring dozens more.
The agency identified him as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S.-born citizen from Texas. An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle he drove, which appeared to be rented, in addition to weapons and a suspected improvised explosive device (IED).
Federal agents are investigating whether Jabbar had any associations or affiliations with terrorist organizations. At a press conference, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said that law enforcement do not believe Jabbar acted alone and they are seeking to identify any of his possible associates.
“There’s a range of suspects,” she said.
Other potential IEDs were located in the French Quarter, as well, the FBI said. Duncan said two IEDs were found and rendered safe and bomb technicians are continuing to work with local law enforcement on the matter.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick called the attack “very intentional” during a separate news conference Wednesday, suggesting the assailant was “hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage he did.”
She said the man drove a pickup truck at high speed into crowds around 3:15 a.m. CST before crashing and then opening fire at police, shooting two officers, who are in stable condition. The assailant was killed by returned fire, according to the FBI.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland called the incident a “terrible tragedy” as the Justice Department vowed to deploy “every available resource” in conducting the probe.
“My heart is broken for those who began their year by learning people they love were killed in this horrific attack,” Garland said, “and my prayers are with the dozens who were injured, including the New Orleans Police Department Officers who risked their lives to save others.”
Those injured were taken to five local hospitals, according to NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness agency.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also involved in the investigation.
President Biden has been briefed on the matter and will continue to be briefed throughout the day, the White House said Wednesday.
“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” Biden said in a statement on the social platform X. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
Bourbon Street is well known for its nightlife, and the city had prepared for large crowds celebrating New Year’s.
Kirkpatrick said the suspect circumvented police barricades set up around the high-traffic area.
The city also expected an influx of visitors for the College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame at the Caesars Superdome, which was scheduled for Wednesday. The game has been postponed 24 hours in light of the incident, officials said.
In the wake of the attack, national and Louisiana elected officials mourned the victims in statements online.
Gov. Jeff Landry (R) called the incident a “horrific act of violence” and offered prayers to the victims and first responders at the scene. The state’s attorney general, Liz Murrill (R), lamented the “brutal intentional slaughter of innocent people” celebrating the New Year in New Orleans and urged people to avoid the immediate area.
Landry also said the state would mobilize roughly 100 members of a military police company to assist local and federal law enforcement.
President-elect Trump decried America’s crime rate and blamed Democrats and the media for refuting his claims that “the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country.” Jabbar was a U.S. citizen.
“Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
The Justice Department’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana will help federal and local law enforcement investigate.
Updated at 2:51 pm ET.
