Topline
New Orleans’ Bourbon Street could re-open as soon as Thursday afternoon following a truck attack allegedly inspired by ISIS that killed at least 15 people, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told local news outlets—as officials prepare for Thursday’s rescheduled college football Sugar Bowl, which the Louisiana Attorney General believes should be delayed at least another day.
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work the scene on Bourbon Street on Jan. 1, 2025.
Getty ImagesKey Facts
Kirkpatrick told WDSU, New Orleans’ local NBC affiliate, she is expecting a briefing from the FBI on Thursday morning and Bourbon Street could reopen in the afternoon as city officials work to ensure the safety of the Allstate Sugar Bowl college football playoff game set to kick off Thursday night at the city’s Caesars Superdome.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, however, told “Fox & Friends” Thursday morning that she thinks the game should be delayed at least another day as the investigation continues and out of the “respect we owe to the dead and to their families.”
A local hotel worker told the New York Times he expects the area to return to its normal state of raucousness Thursday evening after the game between Notre Dame and Georgia, which was rescheduled from Wednesday night following the attack.
Law enforcement agencies say a man drove a rented Ford pickup truck into the crowd on Bourbon Street—located in the city’s French Quarter—at around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday and then opened fire at police before he was killed in an ensuing gunfight.
The FBI has identified the suspect as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas, and said an ISIS flag was found on the truck—along with weapons and possible improvised explosive devices.
Biden said in a speech, “mere hours before the attack, [Jabbar] posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill”—after CNN reported on a series of videos in which the suspect allegedly mentioned his divorce and said he considered killing his family, but later decided to join ISIS.
Federal agents do not think Jabbar was “solely responsible” for the attack, and are working to identify his “potential associations,” FBI Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Alethea Duncan said in a press conference.
In particular, the FBI is looking into whether other suspects were linked to a set of potential improvised explosive devices that were found inside the truck and in the surrounding area.
Local and federal officials have called the incident a terrorist act and the FBI said in a statement the agency is working with partners “to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”
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Who Is Shamsud-Din Jabbar?
The FBI described Jabbar as a U.S.-born citizen from Texas who was honorably discharged from the Army. In 2022 divorce documents obtained by the Times, Jabbar said he made roughly $120,000 a year at Deloitte, but listed late home payments and credit card debt. He had two minor arrests, in 2002 for misdemeanor theft and in 2005 for driving with an invalid license. More information on Jabbar is available here.
What Do We Know About The Victims?
Police have not identified any of the victims, but some news outlets have revealed some details:
- One person who was killed is 37-year-old Reggie Hunter of Baton Rouge, NBC reported, citing his cousin.
- Nikyra Dedeaux, an 18-year-old Mississippi resident who planned to become a nurse, was also killed in the attack, her friend told the Associated Press.
- Tiger Bech, a former Princeton football player, was killed, the Times reports.
- Nicole Perez, a mother in her late 20s, was killed, according to the AP.
- An unidentified University of Georgia student was critically injured in New Orleans and is getting medical treatment, the school’s president Jere Morehead said in a statement. Two Israeli citizens and two Mexican nationals were also injured, officials in both countries told CNN and the Times.
Will The Sugar Bowl Be Affected?
The Sugar Bowl college football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame was scheduled to take place Wednesday evening, but was postponed until Thursday “in the best interest of everybody and public safety.” The event is expected to draw tens of thousands of fans from across the country.
Why Are Police Investigating A House Fire And An Airbnb Rental?
Officials believe improvised explosive devices may have been assembled at an Airbnb rental in New Orleans, Attorney General Liz Murrill told NBC. She added a house fire early Wednesday appears to be connected to the incident.
Where Else Is The Investigation Taking Place?
Beyond New Orleans, the FBI says it is “conducting law enforcement activity” in north Houston. The agency told CNN late Wednesday it is conducting a “court-authorized search of a location” in the city apparently linked to Jabbar, and the Times reports investigators visited Jabbar’s ex-wife’s Houston home.
Is The New Orleans Attack Related To The Las Vegas Cybertruck Explosion?
Unclear. Hours after the attack in New Orleans, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. The explosion is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, multiple news outlets have reported, though law enforcement says it’s not clear what caused the explosion or whether it was a terrorist incident. Biden said federal officials are looking into any possible connections but don’t have anything to report so far, and Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said his department is “not ruling anything out yet.”
Were The New Orleans And Las Vegas Trucks Both Rented With Turo?
The Ford allegedly used in New Orleans and the Tesla that exploded in Las Vegas were both rented through Turo, a peer-to-peer online platform that car owners can use to rent out their vehicles to others, the company told multiple news outlets. Turo said it does “not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.”
Why Didn’t Barriers Protect Bourbon Street?
A set of removable metal bollards designed to prevent cars from driving onto Bourbon Street were not up during the attack, Cantrell confirmed Wednesday afternoon. The mayor said the city is in the process of replacing the bollards—which were first installed over a decade ago—before New Orleans hosts the Super Bowl next month, and they weren’t up late Tuesday because the project is “nearing completion.” Kirkpatrick noted the street was still blocked by a police car instead of metal bollards, but the suspect drove onto the sidewalk to get around the vehicle: “We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it.” However, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said, “we recognize we’ve got a problem here,” and vowed that finding a solution is a “top priority.”
Which Federal Agencies Are Involved In The Investigation?
The FBI is the lead investigative agency probing the incident. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), prosecutors from the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the local federal prosecutor’s office are also assisting with the investigation. The Department of Homeland Security is also coordinating with federal and local agencies, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said.
How Does The Fbi Define A Terrorist Incident?
In the hours following the attack, the was some initial confusion about whether law enforcement was investigating it as a terrorist incident, as the New Orleans mayor and an FBI special agent gave contradicting answers. Mayor LaToya Cantrell immediately called it a terrorist attack, while the FBI’s Alethea Duncan said, “this is not a terrorist event.” However, in a follow-up statement the FBI confirmed that the attack was being probed “as an act of terrorism.” The initial difference is likely due to the FBI having specific criteria for labeling an incident as an “act of terrorism.” The agency defines international terrorism as “Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups who are inspired by, or associated with, designated foreign terrorist organizations or nations.” Domestic terrorism involves similar acts committed by “individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.” On its website, the agency notes that it is “bound by guidelines issued by the attorney general that establish a consistent policy” on when a terror investigation may be initiated. The FBI says its counterterrorism investigations “focus on the unlawful activity of the group, not the ideological orientation of its members.”
Crucial Quote
Kirkpatrick said early Wednesday the attacker “was hell bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
Tangent
Biden called Cantrell in the morning “to offer full federal support following the horrific news that a driver killed and injured dozens of individuals in New Orleans overnight,” the White House said in a statement. Biden has been briefed on the matter by senior FBI and DHS leadership and his homeland security team, and will receive further briefings through the rest of the day, the statement added. In a post on his Truth Social Platform, President-elect Donald Trump expressed condolences and said his administration will fully support the city “as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!” Trump also attacked Democrats, saying: “When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true” (officials say Jabbar was born in the United States).
Further Reading
New Orleans Truck Attack Suspect Identified By FBI—Here’s What We Know About Him (Forbes)
Read the full article here
