FBI releases timeline of deadly New Orleans truck-ramming attack crime news

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States has released more information about a fatal car crash that occurred on New Year’s Day in New Orleans, offering a brief timeline of how the suspect carried out his attack. Gave.

At a press conference on Thursday, Christopher Raya, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, also clarified that there is currently only one suspect involved in the attack: 42-year-old Texas resident Shamsud-Dim Jabbar.

“We do not assess at this point that anyone other than Shamsud-Deem Jabbar is involved in this attack,” Raya said.

Although he stressed that the investigation is still in its early stages, he said, “We are confident at this point that there are no associates involved.”

The news briefing came just a day after Jabbar allegedly drove a rented Ford F-150 pickup truck into a crowd celebrating the holiday on Bourbon Street, the center of tourism and nightlife in New Orleans.

Fourteen people were killed when the truck smashed through a traffic barricade on Canal Street and went over a busy pedestrian thoroughfare about two and a half blocks.

The truck crashed near the intersection of Conti Street, and Jabbar allegedly exchanged fire with law enforcement officers as he attempted to flee.

Ultimately he was killed in retaliation. At least 35 people, including two police officers, were injured.

Media reports indicate that those killed include a father of two from the city of Baton Rouge, a single mother from the city of Metairie, Louisiana, and a football player attending Princeton University.

a revised timeline

Raya said authorities now have a better idea of ​​how Jabbar came to Bourbon Street in the early hours of New Year’s Day, when the attack occurred.

“Investigators believe Jabbar rented an F-150 in Houston, Texas on December 30,” Raya said. “He then left Houston for New Orleans on the evening of the 31st.”

According to Raya, in the final hours before the attack, Jabbar posted a series of five videos on his Facebook account, “declaring his support” for the armed group ISIL (ISIS).

The first video was published at 1:29 pm local time (07:29 GMT). The last one came at 3:02 am (09:02 GMT). By about 3:15 (09:15 GMT), the deadly attack was underway.

That footage indicated to Raya and his colleagues that Jabbar was “100 percent inspired by ISIS”.

“In the first video, Jabbar explains that he originally planned to harm his family and friends, but he was worried that news headlines would focus on a war between believers and nonbelievers,” Raya said.

Additionally, he said he had joined ISIS earlier this summer. He also provided a will and testament.

ongoing investigation

However, authorities stressed that their investigation into the attack was ongoing.

Evidence technicians continue to search the rented pickup truck for evidence. Three phones and two laptops belonging to Jabbar are also being searched.

Raya said FBI agents have received more than 400 tips from the public since the attack. He specifically appealed for more information about the suspect.

“Whether you know Jabbar personally, worked with him, served in the military or saw him in New Orleans or Texas, we need to talk to you,” Rhea said.

Authorities have revealed that Jabbar was a US-born civilian and military veteran who served in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010.

After leaving the army in 2020, he worked at consulting firm Deloitte and appears to have also dabbled in real estate.

An ISIL flag was eventually recovered from the back of Jabbar’s rented pickup truck on Wednesday.

Bomb technicians also found two improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, placed in coolers near the car-collision site: one at the intersection of Bourbon and Orleans streets, and the other two blocks away.

“Let me be very clear about this point: This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act,” Raya said.

Raya said reports of other explosives found at the scene were either misinformation or “not genuine functioning devices”.

no partner

At Thursday’s briefing, Raya also walked back an earlier FBI statement that suggested Jabbar did not act alone.

A day earlier, Alethea Duncan, assistant special agent in charge of the New Orleans FBI bureau, told reporters, “We do not believe Jabbar was solely responsible.”

But Raya tried to allay concerns that Jabbar may have some accomplices who have not yet been detained.

“We have 24 hours now to go through the media, go through the phones, interview people, analyze those videos, analyze other databases,” Raya said.

“Hundreds of leads were found in just 24 hours. We are confident at this point that there are no allies.

He said much of the concern was due to witnesses who saw passersby approaching the cooler, where the IED was later discovered.

“A lot of the early reports came out that there were additional people who were hauling coolers,” he said.

“It turns out they were just patrons on the street looking inside the cooler. “We didn’t know this before.”

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry urged the public to be patient with the investigation process.

“No one can make a puzzle with a thousand pieces and put it together in five seconds,” he told reporters.

Bourbon Street ‘restored’

At Thursday’s news conference, state and local officials also sought to restore public confidence after the deadly attack, which raised questions about security precautions in New Orleans, a popular tourist destination.

New Orleans was in the process of replacing its bollards — pillars used to block traffic in pedestrian hotspots — but city officials have emphasized that other barriers were in place where the bollards were removed. Were.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell also revealed that law enforcement officials have cleared the crime scene on Bourbon Street and returned the area to city authority.

That allowed street sweepers to work about six hours a day overnight to prepare the walkway for visitors, including those attending Thursday’s Sugar Bowl, a college football championship game.

The game was postponed for a day following the attack involving a car crash, while extensive security was put in place at its stadium, Caesars Superdome.

“Safety remains our top priority,” Cantrell said, adding that law enforcement has been deployed throughout the city.

“Because of this, we are confident of reopening Bourbon Street to the public in time for game time today.”

Governor Landry said the city had an “unprecedented amount of law enforcement resources”. He previously said he planned to attend the Sugar Bowl game.

Tourism is a pillar of the New Orleans economy, and an estimated 43 million visitors pass through Louisiana each year.

In 2023 alone, tourists spent a total of $18.1 billion and generated $1.9 billion in state and local taxes.

This year, the city is scheduled to host not only its traditional Mardi Gras parade – a high point on the tourism calendar – but also the Super Bowl, the most-watched sporting event in the country.

Cantrell agreed to those upcoming events in his remarks Thursday.

“I want to assure the public that the city of New Orleans is not only ready for Sports Day today,” she said. “We are ready to continue hosting large-scale events in our city because that is what we are meant to host.”