Name: FBI Now Says New Orleans Truck Attacker Acted Alone in 'Act of Terrorism'
Uploaded: 2025-01-03T08:15:29.000Z
Description: The FBI now says the New Orleans truck attacker acted alone in an “act of terrorism” when he drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers early Wednesday, killing 14 people. The driver had posted videos on social media hours before the carnage saying he was inspired by the ISIS terrorist group and expressing a desire to kill, President Joe Biden said.

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The FBI now says the New Orleans truck attacker acted alone in an “act of terrorism” when he drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers early Wednesday, killing 14 people. The driver had posted videos on social media hours before the carnage saying he was inspired by the ISIS terrorist group and expressing a desire to kill, President Joe Biden said.

The FBI identified the driver as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar.

Passport photo of Shamsud-Din Jabbar. (FBI)

Officials have not yet released the names of the people killed in the attack, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories. About 30 people were injured.

Follow here for the latest updates:
<h2>FBI Releases Photos of Attacker From an Hour Before He Drove Through Bourbon Street</h2>
The FBI has released photos of surveillance footage that the agency says shows Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove a truck down Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens of others.

In the surveillance footage, Jabbar is dressed in a long light brown coat, a button-down shirt, blue jeans, and what appears to be brown dress shoes. He is wearing glasses.

The footage captures Jabbar walking down Dauphine Street, a block away from Bourbon Street, shortly after 2 a.m.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove a truck down Bourbon Street, New Orleans, early Jan. 1, 2025, in a still from surveillance footage.(Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP)


<h2>Biden 'Going to Try’ to Visit New Orleans</h2>
Biden’s days in office are numbered, with the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20 approaching fast.

Biden is expected to eulogize former President Jimmy Carter next week before he travels to Rome for several days to meet with Pope Francis and Italian government officials.

Asked at the White House on Thursday if he planned on visiting New Orleans, Biden said: “I’m going to try.”
<h2>Music Is Back on Bourbon Street</h2>
Along the same block of Bourbon Street where the truck rampaged, a brass band plays to a large crowd. Across the street, a bouquet of white flowers rests on the brick sidewalk.

“Rest in peace, y’all,” one of the drummers shouts after the band finishes a song.

Trombone player and lifelong New Orleans resident Jonas Green, 22, said it was important for his band to be out on Bourbon Street the day after the attack.

“I know with this music, it heals, it transforms the feelings that we’re going through into something better,” Green said. “Gotta keep on going.”

While the historic street has reopened to the public, a group of heavily armed Homeland Security troops still walked in the area alongside tourists.
<h2>Temporary Bollards and Extra Security in Place Along Bourbon Street</h2>
As Bourbon Street reopened to the public Thursday afternoon, people strolled past temporary yellow bollards placed in the street.

In addition to tourists, locals, reporters, local law enforcement and heavily armed Homeland Security officers walked along the typically raucous stretch of street.

At a morning news conference, officials had promised additional resources and safety details as thousands of people attended the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome, about a mile away from where Wednesday morning’s attack occurred.
<h2>Biden Salutes New Orleans’ ‘Tremendous Spirit’</h2>
“It can’t keep it down. It really can’t, and we’re seeing that today. The Sugar Bowl is back on,” President Joe Biden said at an unrelated White House event. He noted that Bourbon Street had reopened with reinforced security the day after the attack.

“The people of New Orleans are sending an unmistakable message. They will not let this attack or the attacker’s deluded ideology overcome us,” Biden said.
<h2>Biden Orders Accelerated Investigations</h2>
The president spoke about the New Orleans attack and Las Vegas explosion at an unrelated White House event on Thursday.

He says he ordered accelerated investigations “so we have answers to our unanswered questions.” He said he also has ordered that every single federal resource be provided “to get the job done.”

The FBI earlier Thursday said there is no “definitive link,” as of now, between the events in New Orleans and Las Vegas.

Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 1, 2025. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)


<h2>FBI Clarifies Death Toll in New Orleans Attack</h2>
Fifteen people were killed in the attack, said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division. That number includes the 14 victims killed plus the assailant, Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
<h2>FBI Says It Isn’t Sure Why Bourbon Street Targeted</h2>
“We know that he specifically picked out Bourbon Street, not sure why,” said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division.

“He was 100 percent inspired by ISIS,” he added.
<h2>Bourbon Street to Reopen Ahead of Sugar Bowl, Mayor Says</h2>
“The city of New Orleans, we’re resilient,” New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell said.

“The confidence is there to reopen Bourbon Street to the public before game time today,” Cantrell added.
<h2>FBI Says New Orleans Truck Attacker Acted Alone in ‘Act of Terrorism’</h2>
The FBI obtained surveillance video of Shamsud Din Jabbar placing the explosive devices where they were found, said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division.

The FBI also found “no definitive link” between the New Orleans attack and the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.
<h2>Hundreds of Tips Have Come In</h2>
The FBI has received more than 400 tips from the public, some from New Orleans and others from other states, Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division, said at a news conference on Thursday.
<h2>Authorities to Give Update on Investigation</h2>
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry will be joined at the news conference by officials from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Louisiana State Police and the New Orleans Police Department.

The conference is scheduled to begin around 10:15 a.m. CST.
<h2>‘We’re Going to Be Able to Put This Game On’</h2>
“The Superdome is completely secure,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said on Fox News. “Again, the FBI continues to pour resources into the state.”

Landry said he plans to attend Thursday afternoon’s college football playoff game between the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame.

“We need not let fear paralyze us,” Landry added. “That’s the problem in this country. When we do that, the terrorists win.”
<h2>Sugar Bowl Scheduled to Take Place in New Orleans This Afternoon</h2>
The College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed by a day because of the truck attack, which unfolded about a mile away.

The game, originally scheduled for 7:45 p.m. CST at the 70,000-seat Superdome on Wednesday, was pushed back to 3 p.m. Thursday. The winner advances to the Jan. 9 Orange Bowl against Penn State.

“Public safety is paramount,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said at a media briefing alongside federal, state and local officials, including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “All parties all agree that it’s in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game.”

The decision to postpone the game meant numerous traveling fans with tickets would not be able to attend. Ticket prices online plummeted in some cases to less than $25 as fans with plans to depart on Thursday tried to unload them.

The Superdome was on lockdown for security sweeps on Wednesday morning. Both teams spent most of the day in their hotels, holding meetings in ballrooms.
<h2>What Happened?</h2>
Police said the driver steered around a police blockade and raced through a crowd along Bourbon Street around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday as revelers gathered to celebrate the new year. At least 15 people were killed and about 30 injured. Two police officers wounded in a shootout with the suspect were in stable condition.

Authorities also found potential explosive devices in the French Quarter, the FBI said. Surveillance footage showed three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.
<h2>Who Is the Driver?</h2>
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was identified as the suspect in the attack. He served in the U.S. military, according to military officials.

Born in the United States, Jabbar enlisted in the Navy in August 2004 under a delayed entry program but was discharged a month later, a Navy official said. He later joined the U.S. Army.

Jabbar deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, according to an Army official. He was a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from 2007 until 2015.

A photograph released in 2013 by the Army showed Jabbar working from a computer in Fort Johnson, which was known at the time as Fort Polk, in Louisiana.

Jabbar then joined the Army Reserve as an information technology specialist until 2020, holding the rank of staff sergeant at the end of service, according to the Army official.

“He served in the United States Army on active duty for many years; he also served in the Army reserve until a few years ago,” President Joe Biden said in remarks to the nation hours after the attack.

FBI officials say that Jabbar posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by the terrorist group ISIS and that an ISIS flag was found in the rented truck that Jabbar used to allegedly carry out the attack.

After the vehicle crashed, Jabbar traded shots with police officers. He was killed in the firefight. Two officers were struck but survived and were described as being in stable condition.

Corporate records show that Jabbar got involved in a series of businesses in recent years.

In a promotional video for a real estate business posted to YouTube in 2020, a man with the same name as the suspect said his time in the military had taught him the importance of great service and taking everything seriously.

In the video, the man introduced himself as a manager at Blue Meadow Properties LLC, a Texas-based company whose license expired in 2022. He was registered as a real estate sales agent for four years through February 2023, records show. He said he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas.

A call to the number provided by Jabbar in the video did not reach anyone. Attempts to contact Jabbar’s relatives were also unsuccessful.

Court records show Jabbar was divorced in 2022, separating from his wife of five years. The couple had one child. He does not appear to have had a violent criminal record.

According to Texas records, Jabbar was charged with a misdemeanor in 2002 for a property theft and arrested in 2005 for driving with an invalid license
<h2>Who Was in the Crowd?</h2>
Authorities said Bourbon Street was filled with revelers toasting the start of 2025 when the attack occurred. Crowds in New Orleans also ballooned in anticipation of the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game between No. 2 Georgia and No. 3 Notre Dame. That game was postponed until Thursday.
<h2>What Protections Are There for Pedestrians on Bourbon Street?</h2>
City documents show New Orleans has been in the midst of a major project to remove and replace post-like barriers called bollards designed to prevent vehicle attacks along Bourbon Street. That project began in November and involves replacing old bollards with new removable stainless steel bollards.
<h2>Have There Been Similar Deadly Attacks Involving Vehicles?</h2>
Wednesday’s attack in New Orleans is the latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon to carry out mass violence. The trend has alarmed law enforcement officials because such attacks can be difficult to protect against. Last month, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor plowed into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers in the German city of Magdeburg, killing four women and a 9-year-old boy.

<em>Epoch Times reporter Zachary Stieber, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.</em>

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