At least 15 people have been killed and dozens more injured after an SUV ran into a crowd celebrating New Year in New Orleans, Louisiana, with authorities investigating it as “an act of terrorism.”
The incident occurred in the city’s French Quarter at around 3:15 am local time, WGNO said on Wednesday. The area, which has numerous bars and restaurants, is popular with tourists.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry described what happened as “a horrific act of violence,” and urged the public to avoid the area. New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) chief Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters that the attacker drove down Bourbon Street with the “clear intent” of causing ”carnage.”
President Joe Biden stated that hours before the New Orleans terror attack, the suspect posted videos suggesting he was “inspired” by Islamic State (IS, ISIS) terrorist group.
The attack took place as New Orleans is preparing to host the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night. The iconic college football game, which has been played in the city annually since 1935, gathers thousands of fans from around the US. This year, the University of Georgia and University of Notre Dame will compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
02 January 2025
Law enforcement officials have searched an Airbnb rental in New Orleans believed to be connected to the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) tied to the Bourbon Street terror attack, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill revealed in an interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt.
“We know that these individuals had rented the house and were using it for that purpose,” Murrill stated.
Murrill also addressed the ongoing security concerns in New Orleans, including the delay of the Sugar Bowl football game, originally scheduled for Wednesday but postponed to Thursday following the attack.
“I would like to see it delayed at least another day,” she said. “If they asked my opinion, I would tell them that.”
Despite calling for an additional delay, Murrill emphasized that she believes “the community is safe,” citing the robust law enforcement presence in the city in the aftermath of the attack.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill emphasized the state’s death penalty policy in a statement on X, suggesting that her office would seek the ultimate punishment if additional suspects are identified.
“In Louisiana, we have the death penalty, and we will carry it out!” Murrill wrote, underscoring the state’s firm stance on capital punishment in cases involving acts of terror and mass casualties.
The primary suspect in the attack, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar from Texas, was killed in a shootout with law enforcement shortly after his violent rampage. However, investigators believe he may not have acted alone, raising the possibility of additional arrests in the ongoing investigation.
In a statement posted on X, FBI Houston announced that the court-authorized search of a property near Hugh Road and Crescent Peak Drive is still ongoing, with SWAT and Bomb Technicians working on-site. No arrests have been made, and FBI personnel are expected to remain at the scene for several more hours.
The vehicle used in the New Orleans attack and the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas were both rented through the online platform Turo, the company confirmed in a statement to CNN.
“We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents,” a spokesperson said. “We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.”
Federal and local law enforcement officers are conducting a thorough search of a home in north Harris County, Texas, believed to be connected to the suspect in the New Orleans attack.
Within hours of the incident, FBI agents and personnel from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) swarmed a property on Hugh Road near Crescent Peak Drive. A federal search warrant had been secured, and specialized teams were deployed to the site.
The FBI confirmed that the search was connected to the New Orleans investigation but withheld specific details, citing the ongoing nature of their inquiries. Nearby residents were asked to evacuate, and reporters were moved to a designated staging area.
Investigators are examining the property for evidence that could confirm suspicions that Shamsud-Din Jabbar did not act alone. The operation, which included an HCSO SWAT vehicle and multiple investigators, is expected to last several hours as authorities comb through the property for clues linked to the planning and execution of the attack.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old Texas-born man suspected in the deadly truck attack on New Year’s Day in New Orleans, had a notable history of military service, federal investigators revealed. Jabbar served in the US Army for 13 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010. His roles included working as a human resources specialist and an IT specialist. He left active duty in 2015 with the rank of staff sergeant and continued his service in the Army Reserve until 2020.
Before his Army career, Jabbar briefly enlisted in the US Navy in 2004 under the Delayed Entry Program, but his service lasted only a month, according to Navy officials. Raised in Beaumont, Texas, Jabbar also pursued civilian careers after leaving the military, including a stint as a real estate agent and a manager of Blue Meadow Properties LLC, a Texas-based company whose license expired in 2022.
Investigators have been interviewing people who knew the New Orleans attacker, but they have not identified any additional suspects thus far, CNN reports, citing a law enforcement source.
President Joe Biden stated that hours before the New Orleans terror attack, the suspect posted videos suggesting he was “inspired” by Islamic State (IS, ISIS) terrorist group.
“The FBI also reported to me that mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he's inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill — desire to kill,” Biden said.
The FBI has confirmed that the perpetrator was an American citizen born in Texas, according to Biden. “He served in the United States Army on active duty for many years and also served in the Army Reserve until a few years ago,” he said.
“The ISIS flag was found in his rented vehicle, which he used to conduct this attack. Possible explosives were found in the vehicle as well, and more explosives were discovered nearby,” the US leader added.
US President Joe Biden has addressed the nation, outlining federal authorities’ efforts to investigate both the New Orleans terrorist attack that left at least 15 dead and the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
Biden highlighted the importance of determining whether the two incidents are linked, but cautioned the public against drawing conclusions prematurely, noting that the investigations remain active and evolving.
”We’re tracking the explosion of a cyber truck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating this as well, including whether there’s any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans,” the outgoing US president said.
People initially believed to have planted explosive devices across the French Quarter of New Orleans have been ruled out as suspects by the FBI, NBC reported, citing a senior law enforcement official. Three men and a woman had been identified as potential suspects during initial analysis of surveillance footage, earlier media reports suggested.
01 January 2025
The death toll of the attack has been officially revised to 15, according to a statement by New Orleans Coroner Dwight McKenna.
“As of now, 15 people are deceased. It will take several days to perform all autopsies. Once we complete the autopsies and talk with the next of kin, we will release the identifications of the victims,” the official said.
US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the “horrific incident” in New Orleans, the White House press service has said in a statement.
“The FBI is taking the lead in the investigation and is investigating this incident as an act of terrorism. I am grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury,” the press service quoted Biden as saying.
The FBI and local police have been “conducting law enforcement activity” in the north of Houston, Texas, in connection with the New Orleans attack, the agency has said in a statement. The FBI refused to provide any further information, citing the “ongoing nature of the investigation.”
More than one person was likely involved in the attack, Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter has said.
“There is an ongoing investigation which limits our ability to talk much more than that, other than to clearly say that this coward did not act alone, and our resources are on the ground turning over every stone. There will not be a rock big enough for them to hide,” Carter told CNN.
Potential explosive devices have been recovered in the French Quarter, the FBI has said. The suspected explosives were planted by three men and a woman, surveillance footage indicated, AP reported, citing a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin it had obtained.
New Orleans officials have admitted that the mechanical barricades and bollards that were supposed to block car access on Bourbon Street were not functioning at the moment of the attack. Efforts to block the street through other means failed.
“We knew these were malfunctioning. So we did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it,” Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick has said.
“This particular terrorist drove around onto the sidewalk and got around the hard target. We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and they still got around,” she added.
The police do not have a final number of deaths in the incident, Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick has said. Ten deaths have been confirmed, and several people were taken to the hospital in critical condition, she added.
During a press conference at the New Orleans Police Department, an FBI spokesperson has confirmed that the suspect was a US army veteran who had been discharged.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has announced mobilization of a military police company to assist the New Orleans Police Department in investigating the incident. It was previously reported that the suspect, who was born in Texas, had served in the US military.
According to the New York Times, in a 2022 divorce filing, the suspect disclosed earning $120,000 annually while working at consulting firm Deloitte. However, he had also acknowledged financial struggles in an earlier email, citing over $27,000 in overdue mortgage payments with foreclosure looming and $16,000 in credit card debt accumulated due to living expenses and legal fees.
Law enforcement officials have reportedly identified the suspect in the attack as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar, from Texas.
The suspect in the New Orleans crowd attack was a US citizen, CNN has reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Officials have not yet released any additional information on the suspect, who was confirmed dead by the FBI.
The suspect was in possession of an ISIS flag at the time of the incident, CNN has reported, citing two law enforcement sources.
Multiple suspected explosive devices were reportedly found in an ice chest in the pickup truck used in the attack.
The FBI previously said it is treating the attack as an “act of terrorism.”
Investigators are looking into the suspect’s political or religious views and whether he was associated with a known terrorist organization, CNN wrote.
The federal authorities have traced the pickup truck used in the New Orleans attack to a border crossing at Eagle Pass, Texas two days prior to the incident, according to Fox News. The vehicle, a white Ford F-150 Lightning with Texas license plates, was recorded by a license plate reader at the Eagle Pass border crossing. However, it remains unclear whether the suspect was driving the vehicle at the time of the crossing.
The truck was reportedly rented through a car-sharing app.
Investigators are working to establish whether the deceased suspect recently entered the country and whether he had any connection to ISIS, ABC News has reported, citing law enforcement sources.
President-elect Donald Trump has commented on the attack in New Orleans on his Truth Social platform, linking it to broader concerns about crime in the US.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” he wrote, adding “the crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before.” Trump extended condolences to the victims of the attack and praised the New Orleans Police Department, pledging that his administration “will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil.”
The FBI has confirmed that the suspect involved in the attack is dead.
”This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others. The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased,” it said in a statement.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson has described the “vicious attack on innocent people” as “an act of pure evil.” In a post on X, the Louisiana Republican declared that “justice must be swift for anyone who was involved.”
The FBI is now investigating the attack as “an act of terrorism,” Reuters has reported. While Mayor LaToya Cantrell initially referred to the massacre as a “terrorist attack,” the FBI contradicted her at the same briefing, stating that “this is not a terrorist event.”
Bomb squads have carried out at least one controlled demolition in the vicinity of Bourbon Street, according to unconfirmed reports shared by several media outlets. A photo shared on social media also showed what appeared to be an explosives team arriving on the street.
US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation in New Orleans, the White House said in a statement. “The FBI is already on the ground supporting local law enforcement in the investigation and the President will continue to be briefed throughout the day,” according to the statement.
Biden is currently at his family home in Wilmington, Delaware, where he has been on vacation since last week.
The man, who ran over people in New Orleans, is dead, Aubry Killion, a reporter for local broadcaster WDSU, wrote on X, citing unnamed sources.
Two officers were wounded after the driver fired at them from his car, the superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, Anne Kirkpatrick, told journalists. Their condition is described as stable, she added.
According to Kirkpatrick, the man drove his pickup truck “down Bourbon Street at a very fast pace.” The suspect displayed “very intentional behavior,” as he was “trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,” she said.
FBI special agent Althea Duncan, who spoke later at the same briefing, contradicted the mayor, saying that “this is not a terrorist event.”
Duncan also said that objects that looked like “improvised explosive devices” had been found at the scene, with experts now working to establish if they are “viable.”
“We do know that the city of New Orleans was impacted by a terrorist attack,” New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell said during a press-conference, adding that the incident is still being investigated.
A man who claimed to have witnessed the event wrote on X that an SUV was “speeding” down the road and “running people over.”
Another witness told a CBS News reporter that after stopping his vehicle, the driver got out and started shooting at the police, with officers returning fire. According to the reporter, there were multiple people on the ground with injuries at the scene.
A man told CNN that he had seen “a truck slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk… A body came flying at me.” He also said that he heard gunshots being fired.