The FBI on Sunday released new details about the travels of 42-year-old Shams al-Din Jabbar, the man authorities say carried out the deadly operation. New Year's terrorist attack In New Orleans.
Jabbar, who authorities said acted alone in the Bourbon Street attack that killed 14 people, traveled to Cairo, Egypt, from June 22 to July 3, 2023, before traveling to Ontario, Canada and returning to the United States a few days later. The FBI said during a press conference. Jabbar also made at least two trips to New Orleans in October and November before the deadly attack and recorded video of the location using Meta smart glasses.
“Our agents are getting answers about where he went, who he went with, and how those trips may or may not be connected to his actions here,” said Lionel Merthel, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Field Office.
While it is still unclear whether these flights are related to the attack, Assistant Deputy Director of the FBI Christopher Raya said the agency was investigating whether Jabbar had any accomplices in the United States or abroad.
What we know about the victims of the terrorist attack in New Orleans
Shams al-Din Jabbar appeared in an undated photo released by the FBI after he was attacked on Bourbon Street in New Orleans with a pickup truck and died in a shootout with officers who responded to the attack. (FBI)
“All the details of the investigation and the evidence we have continue to support that Jabbar acted alone here in New Orleans,” Raya said. He added: “We have not seen any indications of a partner in the United States, but we are still looking for potential partners in the United States and outside our borders.”
Investigators work the scene after a person drove a car into a crowd of people earlier at Canal and Bourbon streets in New Orleans, Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jabbar, an Army veteran from Houston, plowed into a crowd of people with a rented Ford pickup truck. Bourbon Street Revelers in the attack, which officials say was inspired by the Islamic State. Dozens were injured in the truck attack, and Jabbar was killed in an exchange of fire with the police.
The FBI recovered a black ISIS flag from the rental truck and found that Jabbar had pledged allegiance to ISIS in videos posted online hours before the attack.
A student lights a candle at a memorial on Bourbon Street for the victims of the deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans. (AP)
The New Orleans coroner's office has identified all 14 victims, the youngest as 18 and the oldest as 63. Most of the victims were in their twenties.
President Biden She planned to travel to New Orleans with First Lady Jill Biden on Monday to “mourn the families and community members affected by the tragic attack.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
