All most 15 people were killed and dozens injured when a driver rammed a drive truck into a crowd during New Year’s celebrations on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday morning.
Authorities have identified the suspect as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, from Texas, who is an Army vet.
The FBI is looking into the deadly New Orleans attack as a “terrorist act.”
The FBI is gonna give a non-classified briefing about the New Orleans attack to the House and Senate oversight committees and the Louisiana delegation tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET, as per a congressional aide.
The suspect: Multiple officials stated that Jabbar recorded a series of videos prior to the fatal attack, in which he claimed to have joined ISIS. The recordings seem to have been made while driving at night. Jabbar also served in the US Army from 2007 to 2020, as reported by an Army spokesperson on Wednesday. He held the positions of human resources specialist and information technology specialist on active duty from March 2007 to January 2015, with one deployment to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
Surveillance video updates: Federal investigators now believe that the three men and one woman observed in the French Quarter in the surveillance video were not involved in the placement of improvised explosive devices in New Orleans, as stated by a law enforcement official to CNN. The FBI investigation is ongoing and evolving, and investigators are still attempting to ascertain whether other individuals may have been involved in addition to the suspect who drove his pickup truck into a crowd.
Turo was utilized to rent the pickup truck: Turo stated that their platform was employed to rent the vehicles involved in the fatal attack in New Orleans and the vehicle explosion in Las Vegas. Turo is a company that operates an online platform enabling car owners to lease their vehicles.
Call out for blood donations: Two Ochsner Health hospitals received individuals who were injured in the attack. The health system — which describes itself as “the leading nonprofit health provider in the Gulf South” — is requesting the public to consider donating blood to support those affected by the attack.
Biden: President Joe Biden, in his latest address, said that “no one should jump to conclusions” and added that he is directing top law enforcement officials to continue to “intensively” investigate the deadly attack in the French Quarter in New Orleans.
The Sugar Bowl: The University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame were scheduled to compete in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Wednesday night; however, the game will now commence on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.