New Orleans was reeling on Friday, the third day since a truck attack killed 14 people, as well as an alleged terrorist who died in a shootout with police early on New Year's Day.
The FBI released gruesome new footage Thursday showing the now-deceased suspect — 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar — about an hour before he allegedly sped off in a Ford rental car through crowd of Bourbon Street revelers in the attack. officials say it was inspired by the Islamic State. More than 30 others were injured. Although it had previously investigated the possibility of accomplices in the attack, the FBI said on Thursday that the bureau was confident that Jabbar acted alone.
The investigation has now turned to how Jabbar – a US military veteran who recently held a six-man job – became radicalized. He grew up Muslim in Texas and most recently lived in Houston.
“This investigation has only been over 24 hours, and we have no indication that anyone else was involved in this attack other than Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said. Counterterrorism Division at the FBI. Headquarters said on Thursday. “The FBI is moving people and assets to this area across the region and across the country. Special agents in field offices across the country are assisting with potential aspects of this investigation and additional teams of special agents, professional staff, and victim experts are arriving to provide assistance to victims and their families.”
“Let's be clear – what happened here in New Orleans was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and a bad act,” he added.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN THE NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK
Surveillance footage released by the FBI shows Jabbar, dressed neatly in a long light brown coat, dark button-down shirt, blue jeans, and brown dress shoes, walking along Dauphine St. . near Governor Nicholls St. at 2:03 am CST. – about an hour before the attack. Other images showed coolers allegedly placed by Jabbar on the street. Authorities say he planted improvised explosive devices inside with the intention of causing more carnage.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released surveillance photos showing Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove a truck on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, early on January 1, 2025. (Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP)
Authorities were searching for an Airbnb in New Orleans rented by Jabbar that caught fire Wednesday morning, along with Jabbar's home in Houston.
Bourbon Street – known around the world for its music, booze and party fun – opened for business early Thursday afternoon.
College football's Sugar Bowl game between Notre Dame and Georgia, which was postponed for a day in the interest of national security, was played Thursday evening. The Joan of Arc pageant in France is still scheduled to take place on Monday to kick off the pre-Mardi Gras entertainment season, said Antoinette de Alteriis, one of the organizers. He said they are expecting close to the usual crowd of about 30,000 participants.
The FBI continues to hunt for information about Jabbar but, a day into its investigation, the agency said it was confident it had no help from anyone in the attack, which killed an 18-year-old nurse. an aspiring, single mother. father of two and former football star at Princeton University, among others.
The FBI said that in the hours before the attack, Jabbar, a US citizen from Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account in which he announced his support for the Islamic State group and witnessed the violence recently. will present it in the famous French Quarter district. . It was the deadliest IS-inspired attack on American soil in years, exposing what government officials warned was an international terrorist threat.
It also comes as the FBI and other agencies prepare for a major shake-up in leadership, and policy changes, after President-elect Donald Trump's administration takes office.
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Raia stressed that there was no indication of a link between the New Orleans attack and Wednesday's explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck packed with explosives outside Trump's Las Vegas hotel.
Plans for the New Orleans attack also included the placement of crude bombs in the area with the express purpose of causing mass casualties, officials said. Two improvised explosive devices left in the coolers and several others were recovered from the scene. Some devices were determined to be ineffective.
Investigators were also trying to understand more about Jabbar's path to radicalization, which they say culminated in him loading a rental truck in Houston on Dec. 30 and driving it to New Orleans the next night.
The FBI found a black IS flag at Jabbar's apartment and reviewed five videos posted on Facebook, including one in which he said he intended to harm his family and friends but was worried that the headlines would not focus on “the war between believers. non-believers,” Raia said. Jabbar also said he joined IS before last summer and gave certificate of legacy, the FBI said.
Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, active in human resources and information technology and deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said.
He transferred to the Army Center in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
Jabbar's brother told Fox News that the New Orleans attacker was violent and had a hard time finding himself.
Fox News spoke with Abdur Rahim-Jabbar from Beaumont, Texas, where he and his three siblings grew up.
Abdur said they were raised Muslim, along with the rest of his family. He said that Jabbar retreated from Islam, but found a way back after his 2022 divorce.
Jabbar struggled to find his way throughout his life, his brother told Fox News. He said his brother joined the Army to “find something, fix him up, get him down, maybe find a viable career path.”
After Jabbare was divorced twice, his brother said he was “looking for some kind of direction.” His brother took the blame for the attack and said he did not see the signs before the attack, as well as offering compensation for the lost life. He said this was “not a direct sign of his brother and the Muslim community.”
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A US government official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Jabbar went to Egypt in 2023, staying in Cairo for a week, before returning to the US and going to Toronto for three days. It was not clear what he was doing on those trips.
On Bourbon Street, flowers and candles were arranged as a memorial to the victims, while yellow poles were placed in the surrounding squares. On Thursday night, players danced to music from bands, tourists posed for photos and a group of street performers preparing to blow up a parade had no problem attracting a large crowd.
Brooke Taylor of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.