A Texas man who supported the Islamic State acted alone in the New Orleans attack, the FBI tells Reuters

By Brian Thevenot and Ned Randolph

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – A U.S. Army veteran who drove a truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State but acted alone in the attack that killed at least 14 people, the FBI said on Thursday.

The suspect, who the FBI said was shot at the scene after firing at police, was identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texan who once served in Afghanistan.

He drove from Houston to New Orleans on December 31st. On the morning of the attack, between 1:29 a.m. and 3:02 a.m., he posted five videos on Facebook (NASDAQ:) in which he said he supported ISIS, the Islamic militant group with fighters in Iraq and Syria, he said FBI.

The massacre at New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street nightlife during a holiday celebration has made for a worrying start to the new year in the United States, as law enforcement officials across the country promised increased security for upcoming public events.

In his first video, Jabbar said he had previously planned to harm his family and friends, but he was concerned that media coverage would not focus on the “war between the believers and the non-believers,” the FBI deputy assistant deputy said Director Christopher Raia at a press conference.

Jabbar also said in the videos that he joined ISIS before last summer and submitted his last will and testament, Raia said.

“This was an act of terrorism,” Raia said. “It was premeditated and an evil act.” The FBI was still investigating Jabbar’s “path to radicalization,” but the evidence reviewed so far shows he was clearly inspired by ISIS, Raia said.

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives were told at a briefing by David Scott, an assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, that Jabbar was not on any government watch list and that the bureau had found no evidence that he was murdered by a foreign agency person or group.

Surveillance video footage showed Jabbar placing two improvised explosive devices in refrigerators at intersections around Bourbon Street, the popular tourist destination in New Orleans where the attack took place, several hours before the attack, Raia said. Both were able to be brought to safety at the scene of the accident.

Other people could be seen in the video looking at the coolers. The investigators now assume that they were just curious passers-by and not accomplices.

New Orleans officials said the Sugar Bowl college football game, scheduled for Wednesday in a New Year’s tradition, would take place Thursday afternoon and Bourbon Street had reopened to the public shortly beforehand. The city is preparing for weeks of Mardi Gras celebrations starting Jan. 6 and will also host the National Football League’s Super Bowl next month, with city officials promising increased security for the crowded events.

The FBI said there appears to be no connection between the attack in New Orleans and the incident in Las Vegas the same day in which a rented Tesla (NASDAQ:) Cybertruck full of gasoline cans and large firework mortars exploded in flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20th. The driver of the Tesla, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, fatally shot himself shortly before the explosion, Las Vegas police said.

The injured in New Orleans included two police officers who were injured by gunfire from the suspect during the attack, which occurred just three hours after the start of the New Year in the historic French Quarter. According to the FBI, at least 14 people and the suspect were killed and 35 were injured.

The victims included the mother of a 4-year-old who had just moved into a new apartment after being promoted at work, a New York financial employee and veteran student-athlete who was visiting home for the holidays, and a 18 year old. year-old student nurse from Mississippi.

Witnesses described a horrific scene.

“There were people everywhere,” Kimberly Strickland of Mobile, Alabama, said in an interview. “You just heard this squeak and the engine revving and this huge, loud crash and then the screaming people and debris – just metal – the sound of crunching metal and bodies.”

An assessment by law enforcement officials in Louisiana and New Orleans in December found there was no “credible threat” to New Year’s events in the city.

Authorities in other US cities said they had increased security, including at Trump Tower and Times Square in New York City, adding that there were no immediate threats.

In Washington, police also said they had increased their presence as the capital prepares to host three major events this month: Congress’ certification of Trump’s victory in the Jan. 6 presidential election, the state funeral for the former President Jimmy Carter on January 9th and Trump’s presidential funeral on January 9th. 20 Inauguration.

Islamic State flag

According to the FBI, an IS flag was found on the trailer hitch of the rented truck that was used in the attack in New Orleans.

US President Joe Biden condemned what he called a “despicable” act.

“We will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS and other terrorist organizations wherever they are, and they will not find safe haven here,” Biden said, referring to the Islamic State.

Federal authorities are also investigating a fire that broke out early Wednesday at a home rented through Airbnb in the St. Roch neighborhood of New Orleans. Jabbar was believed to be at that address, and investigators were examining two laptops found there that were linked to Jabbar, Joshua Jackson, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives, told reporters. They also examined three cell phones linked to Jabbar.

Jackson said the fire appeared to have started after Jabbar was killed, but officials were investigating whether it was ignited using a timer device.

Public records show Jabbar was born in Beaumont, a city about 80 miles (130 km) east of Houston, where he worked in real estate.

Jabbar was in the U.S. Army from March 2007 to January 2015 and then in the Army Reserve from January 2015 to July 2020, an Army spokesman said. He was stationed in Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of his service.

ISIS is a militant Muslim group that once ruled over millions of people in Iraq and Syria until it collapsed after a sustained military campaign by a U.S.-led coalition. Even though IS is weakened on the ground, it continues to recruit sympathizers online, experts say.