A fatal car-ramming attack on New Year's celebrants In New Orleans Unfortunately, this is not the only time suspected terrorists have used trucks to kill.
The bloodshed on Bourbon Street comes just weeks after Saudi-born doctor He allegedly rammed a car into a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on December 20, killing five people, including a 9-year-old boy. More than 200 others were injured. In recent years, other car ramming incidents have occurred during crowded events in the city of Nice, France. Waukesha, Wisconsin; And New York City, where a former Trump-era Department of Homeland Security official warned of the vulnerability of “soft targets.”
“Vehicle ramming attacks, or 'vehicle-as-weapon' attacks, are very effective. With this attack coming on the heels of the deadly events at a Christmas market in Germany, we must all be vigilant while attending and enjoying mass gathering events,” Brian Harrell, a former assistant secretary of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration, told Fox News Digital. “Easy targets and crowded places will always be desirable for terrorists given the potential loss of life,” he added.
“In the first Trump administration, we recognized that the car as a weapon represented a real threat that needed to be mitigated,” Harrell added. “The challenge of securing public spaces, or ‘soft targets,’ is that the open nature of these locations makes them vulnerable to attacks. Bad actors target places where people of all backgrounds should be able to gather safely, freely, and without fear.” Such violence has no place in our society.”
The FBI is investigating an “act of terrorism” on Wednesday, and the White House was briefed after authorities said a suspect rammed a truck into crowds on Bourbon Street, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens more. A high-ranking source in the New Orleans Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that the now-deceased suspect is Shamsud Din Jabbar. He was killed after shooting at police.
The source said Jabbar was carrying a Glock and a .308 rifle equipped with optics and a silencer, which had been reported stolen in New Jersey. The source added that there were at least four to five other suspects involved.
Two officers were shot. A source confirmed to Fox News Digital that law enforcement found explosive devices on Bourbon Street that appeared to be explosive.
An eight-block perimeter around Bourbon Street remains closed as the investigation continues.
A front desk employee at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel told Fox News Digital that she drove to work around 6 a.m. but had to walk a long distance through police barricades. Although she didn't see much, she heard what sounded like at least two soft 'bangs', and suspected that something had exploded.
Law enforcement officers on Bourbon Street on January 1, 2025 in New Orleans. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
Fox News has learned that the vehicle used in the attack crossed the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, in November. However, the alleged Bourbon Street attacker was not behind the wheel, meaning the car changed hands at some point.
The Sugar Bowl The College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup between Georgia and Notre Dame was still expected to begin as expected in New Orleans on Wednesday night, but the Dome was closed for security checks.
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies are working the scene on Bourbon Street after at least 10 people were killed when someone allegedly drove his car into the crowd in the early morning hours of New Year's Day on January 1, 2025. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
As the popular Louisiana tourist destination continues to reel from a hit-and-run attack, here's a look at other attacks in recent years.
The German Interior Minister warned on Monday that it was too early to suspect a terrorist act in the Christmas market incident that occurred on December 20.
The suspect was identified as a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia, who came to Germany in 2006 and was granted refugee status 10 years later. DW reported.
Despite the international fame Times Square New Year's Eve After the ball dropped without a hitch this year, New York City saw a car ramming incident in 2017 in what remains the deadliest terrorist incident in the Big Apple since 9/11.
Police trucks and ambulances at the annual Christmas market in the city center following a possible terrorist incident on December 20, 2024 in Magdeburg, Germany. (Craig Stinnett/Getty Images)
Halloween afternoon in 2017, Sayfullo Saipovfrom Uzbekistan used a 6,000-pound truck to hit more than 20 people on the Hudson River bike path in lower Manhattan. Eventually, he crashed into a school bus and jumped out of his truck, shouting “Allahu Akbar,” according to the New York Times. An officer shot the suspect in the abdomen. Prosecutors said he killed eight people and seriously injured others, including a 14-year-old.
A judge gave Saipov eight consecutive life sentences and 260 years in prison in May 2023 for the ISIS-inspired attack. Prosecutors said the survivors suffered amputations, severe brain injuries, life-altering physical injuries and significant psychological trauma.
Three years ago, Darrell Brooks Jr. crashed his red Ford Escape during a Christmas parade in downtown Waukesha, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, on November 21, 2021. The attack killed six people, including 8-year-old Jackson Sparks , who was walking with his baseball team. The other victims are Tamara Durand, 52 years old; Wilhelm Hospiel, 81; Jane Kulich, 52; Lena Owen, 71; and Virginia Sorenson, 79 years old. Four of them were part of a group that called themselves the “Dancing Grannies.” \
Sixty-two others were injured. The following November, Brooks was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on 76 charges, including six counts of first-degree murder and 61 counts of reckless endangerment.
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On July 14, 2016, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel – an alleged ISIS sympathizer – drove a 19-ton truck across the famous promenade in Nice, France, where thousands had gathered to watch Bastille Day fireworks. The terrorist attack killed 86 people and injured 450 others. Lahouaiej Bouhlel was killed by police, but in 2022 a French court convicted eight others of helping to organize the massacre. Their sentences ranged from two to 18 years. NPR reported.
Fox News' David Spont contributed to this report.
