NEW ORLEANS — A driver behind the wheel of a pickup truck rammed into a crowd of New Orleans revelers on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.
After the vehicle stopped, the driver emerged from the truck and opened fire on responding officers, New Orleans police said.
Here is the latest:
Biden: Authorities are investigating whether New Orleans attack is linked to Las Vegas explosion
President Joe Biden said federal agents are investigating whether the truck attack in New Orleans was linked to the explosion of a Telsa Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel.
“There’s nothing to report on that score at this time,” Biden said.
The Tesla Cybertruck appeared to be carrying fireworks when it caught fire and exploded Wednesday. One person died and seven others were injured.
Biden says attacker posted video indicating he was inspired by the Islamic State group
President Joe Biden said the New Orleans attacker had posted video on social media indicating he was inspired by the Islamic State group.
Biden said the man had expressed a “desire to kill.”
He said the investigation remained fluid.
The president said: “I grieve with you. Our nation grieves with you.”
— By Darlene Superville at Camp David
Sugar Bowl now scheduled for Thursday afternoon
The College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame will now start at 3 p.m. CST Thursday.
It was originally set for Wednesday night in New Orleans. But officials said they would postpone it following the truck attack in the city’s French Quarter.
Divorce records reveal some information about the New Orleans attacker’s finances
Divorce records show that in January 2022, Shamsud-Din Jabbar was $27,000 behind on house payments. He wanted to quickly finalize the divorce.
“I have exhausted all means of bringing the loan current other than a loan modification, leaving us no alternative but to sell the house or allow it to go into foreclosure,” he wrote in an email to his now-ex-wife’s attorney.
His businesses were struggling, too. One, Blue Meadow Properties LLC, lost about $28,000 over the previous year. Two others he started, Jabbar Real Estate Holdings LLC and BDQ L3C, weren’t worth anything.
The divorce was approved in September 2024.
Death toll now stands at 15
The New Orleans coroner now says 15 people were killed when a driver deliberately struck people in the French Quarter early on New Year’s Day.
Authorities previously said 10 had died. The driver was fatally shot by police.
The coroner, Dr. Dwight McKenna, says it will take several days to conduct autopsies. Once those are done and relatives are notified, officials will release the victims’ names, McKenna said in a statement.
FBI has been warning about an elevated terrorism threat
If confirmed as inspired by the Islamic State, the attack would represent the deadliest such assault on U.S. soil in years. The militant group’s flag was on the trailer hitch of the truck involved in the New Orleans attack, according to the FBI.
FBI officials have repeatedly warned about an elevated international terrorism threat due to the Israel-Hamas war.
In the last year, the FBI has disrupted other potential attacks inspired by the militant group, including in October when agents arrested an Afghan man in Oklahoma accused of plotting an Election Day attack targeting large crowds.
Driver in New Orleans attack had served in the US Army
The driver in the attack in New Orleans previously served in the Army.
A U.S. official said Shamsud-Din Jabbar got out of the Army in 2015 but it was not clear if he went into the Reserve after that. He served as an information technology specialist, the official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that had not yet been made public.
— By Tara Copp in Washington.
A Baton Rouge father was killed in the New Orleans attack
A 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge was among the 10 people killed.
Reggie Hunter had just left work and was headed with a cousin to celebrate New Year’s when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com.
Hunter was killed and his cousin was injured, Jackson said.
Officials have not yet released the names of the victims, but their families and friends are talking about them.
Road closed leading to suspect’s recent address
Law enforcement officers have closed off a road leading to a Houston residence that records indicate was a recent address of the suspect in the New Orleans attack.
The white mobile home was behind a gate and in a small neighborhood where goats and ducks were roaming the grass.
18-year-old who wanted to be a nurse is among the victims in New Orleans, friend says
A Mississippi man who was celebrating New Year’s Eve in New Orleans says his friend who dreamed of becoming a nurse was among the people killed in an attack on Bourbon Street.
Zion Parsons, 18, said a vehicle suddenly appeared and he watched it hit his friend, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux. At least 10 people were killed.
Parsons described the crowd scattering and the gruesome aftermath.
“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering” Parsons said.
He said he watched as authorities put a tarp over Dedeaux’s body. He later called Dedeaux’s family to tell them what had happened.
“I hadn’t had time to cry up until I called her mother and she asked me, ‘Where’s my baby’,” Parsons said. “That broke me.”
Officials insist people should feel safe in New Orleans even as they seek additional suspects
Officials say residents and visitors should feel safe in New Orleans even as they have repeatedly acknowledged that they are aggressively seeking additional possible suspects in the attack.
During a news conference, Gov. Jeff Landry bristled at a question about how officials were confident that Jabbar did not act alone, saying, “Why would we tell you?”
But a Louisiana State Police bulletin obtained by The Associated Press and circulated among law enforcement contained a possible clue. The document said surveillance footage captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices.
Truck used in attack was rented using Turo app, company says
The pickup truck used in the attack was rented via Turo, an app that connects drivers, known as “guests,” with vehicle owners, known as “hosts,” according to Steve Webb, the company’s vice president of communications.
“We are heartbroken to learn that one of our host’s vehicles was involved in this awful incident,” Webb said in an email. “We are actively partnering with the FBI. We are not currently aware of anything in this guest’s background that would have identified him as a trust and safety threat to us at the time of the reservation.”
Investigators have reviewed video of people placing an explosive device, document shows
Investigators have reviewed video showing three men and a woman placing an improvised explosive device in connection with the car attack that killed at least 10 people in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
That’s according to a Louisiana State Police bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.
The revelation could help explain why officials at a Wednesday news conference said that they were aggressively hunting for additional suspects and did not believe the driver of the pickup truck, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, acted alone.
New Orleans attacker drove around police car and onto sidewalk, authorities say
Authorities say that the driver of the truck that rammed into the crowd in New Orleans drove onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic and protect Bourbon Street revelers.
A barrier system designed to prevent vehicle attacks was undergoing repairs in preparation for the Super Bowl, which is being played in the city in February.
Sugar Bowl postponed after New Orleans attack
The Sugar Bowl has been postponed for 24 hours after an attack during New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans left 10 people dead and at least 35 injured.
AllState Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley says the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame will be held Thursday. It had been scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Superdome in New Orleans.
Hundley says the decision was made in the interest of public safety.
FBI believes New Orleans attacker may have had help
The FBI says it does not believe that the Texas man who killed at least 10 people in a suspected New Orleans terror attack acted alone.
Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at a news conference that officials are actively seeking any possible associates of the man, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
Authorities are set to hold a media briefing
Authorities plan to hold a joint media briefing at 2 p.m. EST after an attack during New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans left 10 people dead and at least 35 injured.
Gov. Jeff Landry, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne E. Kirkpatrick, and Louisiana State Police Col. Robert P. Hodges will speak at the briefing.
FBI identifies driver who killed 10
The FBI confirmed that it has identified the driver who killed 10 people and injured dozens in New Orleans as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar. Investigators are working to gather additional information about Jabbar’s background and investigating an Islamic State flag that was with the vehicle, the FBI said.
Islamic State group flag found in vehicle used in New Orleans attack, FBI says
An Islamic State group flag was recovered in the vehicle used by the attacker who killed at least 10 people early Wednesday in New Orleans, the FBI said in a statement.
The FBI says it is still investigating the attacker, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, to determine “potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.”
Jabbar was killed in a firefight with police following the attack around 3:15 a.m. in an area teeming with New Year’s revelers, the FBI said.
— By Erik Tucker, Jim Mustian, Zeke Miller, Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Balsamo
Law enforcement identifies driver who killed 10
Law enforcement has identified the driver who killed 10 people and injured dozens in New Orleans as a 42-year-old man, six law enforcement officials tell The Associated Press.
The officials identified the suspect as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar.
Investigators were working to gather additional information about Jabbar’s background and investigating an unfurled black flag that was with the vehicle, the officials said.
A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed by police.
The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Louisiana governor urges people to stay away from French Quarter
Louisiana’s governor says people should stay away from the French Quarter because of the investigation into the deadly attack by a pickup driver that killed 10 people.
Gov. Jeff Landry posted on the social media platform X that authorities face “a fluid situation” as they investigate.
Landry posted, “We recognize that there are tourists around us, and we urge all to avoid the French Quarter as this is an active investigation.”
Superdome in New Orleans on lockdown for security sweeps after deadly truck attack
The Superdome, set to host a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night, is on lockdown for security sweeps.
People with offices in the Superdome — including officials with the Sugar Bowl and Sun Belt Conference — were told not to come into work until further notice.
However, there was no immediate word that the Sugar Bowl, scheduled to kick off at 7:45 p.m., might be delayed.
What we know after a driver crashes into pedestrians on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, killing 10
Driver rams New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, killing 10. FBI investigating as ‘act of terrorism’
A driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of New Orleans revelers early on New Year’s Day, killing 10 people and injuring more than 30 in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.
The driver was killed in a firefight with police following the attack around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street in the city’s bustling French Quarter, the FBI said.
Investigators were combing the French Quarter for potential explosive devices, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said officials were investigating at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
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