Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday that the United States will not allow a “climate of fear” to prevail after the deadly attack. Terrorist attack in New Orleans On Wednesday, it killed 14 people and injured dozens.
The suspect in the attack, Shams al-Din Jabbar, an army veteran and US citizen from Texas, was killed by police in the early morning hours of the new year after he drove a truck into a crowd of holiday revelers.
“This appears to be an individual, an American citizen, who was turned to violence by a foreign terrorist ideology,” he added. Specifically, ISIS doctrineMayorkas said on “Your World.” “This is a phenomenon, a phenomenon of homegrown violent extremists that we have seen develop and emerge over the last 10 years.”
Family and friends moved to identify the growing number of victims after terror suspect Chamseddine Jabbar drove his car into a large crowd of people in New Orleans on New Year's Eve.
Officials said an ISIS flag was recovered from Jabbar's Ford pickup truck, which he used to run over people in the French Quarter.
Christopher Raya, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, He said in a press conference On Thursday, Jabbar posted videos online while driving from Houston to New Orleans declaring his support for ISIS.
“This investigation has been in progress for just over 24 hours, and we have no indication at this stage that anyone other than Shamsuddin Bahar Jabbar was involved in this attack,” Raya said.
What we know about the victims of the terrorist attack in New Orleans
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work the scene on Bourbon Street after at least ten people were killed when someone drove into the crowd in the early morning hours of New Year's Day on January 1, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
Mayorkas said ISIS's goal is to make Americans “live in fear” but that American democracy and its way of life “must prevail.”
“We will continue to enjoy and thrive in our democratic way of life and will not allow an atmosphere of fear to prevail Therefore, it is the target of ISIS succeed. “We're not going to let that happen,” he told Fox News anchor Sandra Smith.
Smith pressed Mayorkas on the number of encounters on the terrorism watch list at the southern border under the Biden administration and why more wasn't done sooner to limit the number of people illegally crossing into the country.
New Orleans terror suspect's brother says attack is sign of 'extremism': report
A pro-ISIS media outlet called on Muslims in Russia, Europe and the United States to carry out attacks on New Year's Eve. (AP Photo/Getty Images)
Mayorkas said that the men and women of US law enforcement work every day to “ensure the safety and security of the American people” and to screen individuals who pose a threat to public safety and national security.
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He added: “Whatever the nature of the threat, those who pose a threat to the American people are our top priority for law enforcement actions as required by our laws. We apply and enforce these laws every day.”
