Written by Brian Thevenot and Ned Randolph
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – A U.S. Army veteran who plowed a truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in New Orleans had pledged allegiance to 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 and killed at the scene after shooting at police, was identified as Shamsuddin Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texan who previously served in Afghanistan.
He drove from Houston to New Orleans on December 31. The FBI said the militant group has fighters in Iraq and Syria.
The massacre in New Orleans' popular Bourbon Street nightlife district during a holiday celebration has made for an alarming start to the new year in the United States, with law enforcement officials across the country promising to beef up security for upcoming public events.
In his first video, Jabbar said he had previously planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned that media coverage would not focus on “the war between believers and unbelievers,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raya said at a news conference. .
Raya said Jabbar also said in the videos that he joined ISIS before last summer and made his last will and testament.
“This was an act of terrorism,” Raya said. “It was premeditated and an evil act.” Raya said the FBI was still investigating Jabbar's “path to radicalization,” but evidence reviewed so far showed he was clearly inspired by ISIS.
David Scott, assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, told lawmakers in the US House of Representatives that Jabbar is not on any government watchlist and that the bureau has found no evidence that he received direction from any foreign individual or group.
Raya said video footage captured by surveillance cameras showed Jabbar placing two improvised explosive devices in coolers a few hours before the attack at intersections around Bourbon Street, a popular tourist destination in New Orleans where the attack occurred. They were rescued at the scene of the accident.
Other people were seen on video looking into the coolers, and investigators now believe they were just curious bystanders, not accomplices.
The Sugar Bowl college football game that was scheduled for Wednesday in a New Year's Day tradition will take place Thursday afternoon, and Bourbon Street reopened to the public shortly before, New Orleans officials said. The city is preparing for weeks of Mardi Gras celebrations starting on January 6, and will also host the National Football League's Super Bowl next month, with city officials promising to tighten security for the crowded events.
The FBI said there did not appear to be a connection between the attack in New Orleans and the incident in Las Vegas on the same day in which a rented Tesla (NASDAQ:) e-truck loaded with gasoline cylinders and a large fireworks mortar exploded and set fires outside. Trump International Airport. A hotel in Las Vegas, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20. The Tesla driver, an active-duty US Army soldier, shot himself moments before the explosion. Las Vegas police said.
Two police officers were among those injured in New Orleans, who were shot by the suspect during the attack that occurred just three hours after the New Year in the historic French Quarter. The FBI said at least 14 people and the suspect were killed and 35 others were injured.
The victims included the mother of a 4-year-old who had just moved into a new apartment after winning a promotion at work, a financial employee in New York, an accomplished student athlete visiting his home for the holidays, and an 18-year-old. A year-old aspiring nurse from Mississippi.
Witnesses described the horrific scene.
“There were people everywhere,” Kimberly Strickland of Mobile, Alabama, said in an interview. “I just heard this squealing and the engine revving and this huge powerful impact and then people screaming and debris – just metal – the sound of grinding metal and bodies.”
An assessment by law enforcement officials in Louisiana and New Orleans in December concluded there was “no credible threat” to the city's New Year's events.
Authorities in other US cities said they had increased security measures, including Trump Tower and Times Square in New York City, and added that there were no immediate threats.
In Washington, police also said they had beefed up their presence as the capital prepared to host three major events this month: Congress' Jan. 6 certification of Trump's presidential election victory, former President Jimmy Carter's state funeral on Jan. 9, and Trump's funeral in January. 20 inauguration.
Flag of the Islamic State
The FBI said an Islamic State flag was found on the trailer hitch of the rental truck used in the New Orleans attack.
US President Joe Biden condemned what he described as a “despicable” act.
“We will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS and other terrorist organizations wherever they are, and they will not find a safe haven here,” Biden said, referring to the Islamic State.
Federal authorities are also investigating a fire that broke out early Wednesday at an Airbnb rental home in New Orleans' St. Roch neighborhood. Joshua Jackson, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives, told reporters that Jabbar was believed to reside at that address, and that investigators were examining two laptop computers linked to Jabbar that were found there. They were also examining three mobile phones connected to Jabbar.
Jackson said the fire appears to have started after Jabbar was killed, but officials are investigating whether it was started using a timer.
Public records show that Jabbar was born in Beaumont, a city about 80 miles (130 km) east of Houston, where he worked in real estate.
An Army spokesman said that Jabbar was in the US Army from March 2007 until January 2015 and then in the Army Reserve from January 2015 until July 2020. He was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and attained the rank of staff sergeant at the end of his service.
The Islamic State is a militant Islamist group that imposed a reign of violence on millions of people in Iraq and Syria until it collapsed after a sustained military campaign by the US-led coalition. Experts say that although it has been weakened on the ground, it has continued to recruit sympathizers online.
