As New Year's Eve revellers flocked to celebrate the beginning of 2025, a man intentionally drove at high speed into the crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens of others.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that the man drove a white Ford pickup truck, with an Islamic State flag at around 3:15 AM (U.S. time). The FBI also mentioned that the truck appeared to be rented. Moreover, the New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said that he also drove around barricades and up onto the sidewalk of Bourbon Street.
After the incident, the man crashed the vehicle and opened fire on officers, causing him to die in a shootout with police. Additionally, weapons and a potential improvised explosive device (IED) was located in the vehicle.
“Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter. The FBI’s special agent bomb technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe,” the FBI said in a statement.
The driver is identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas, the FBI said. He served in the military for over 10 years as a human resource specialist and an IT specialist, before he was honorably discharged, the Pentagon said.
Authorities are looking into the possibility of groups being associated with the attack, as investigators suspect that Jabbar did not act alone. In a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, FBI special agent Alethea Duncn said that investigators doubt that Jabbar was solely responsible for the attack. She added that the latter may have had help carrying out the incident.
“An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” the FBI said.
Subsequently, President Joe Biden also announced that the FBI had determined that hours before the attack, Jabbar posted videos on social media, alluding to having been inspired by ISIS, adding that he expressed a desire to kill.
The FBI is currently working with their partners to investigate the incident, stating that it is an “act of terrorism.”
“We are aggressively running down all leads to identify any possible associates of the subject,” the FBI ended.
