New Orleans attacker planted explosives on Bourbon Street, Biden says: Updates
NEW ORLEANS — The New Year's Day truck attack that killed 14 people and wounded dozens of others appears to have been the act of a lone wolf and unrelated to a truck blast in Las Vegas, authorities said Thursday.
The driver in the attack here, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was fatally shot by police at the scene. Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said Thursday that law enforcement officials were following up on more than 400 tips in the case. Raia said the preliminary investigation indicated Jabbar acted alone, although a day earlier FBI Special Agent Alethea Duncan had said authorities did not believe Jabbar was "solely responsible."
Jabbar, Raia said, posted videos on social media in the hours before the attack saying he had joined the Islamic terrorist group ISIS last year. The videos indicated Jabbar, who lived in Houston, had initially planned on harming family and friends but instead decided on an attack that would focus news coverage on the "war between the believers and the disbelievers," Raia said.
"This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act," said Raia, who described Jabbar as "100% inspired by ISIS."
At a White House news briefing with reporters Thursday, President Joe Biden said Jabbar had a remote detonator in his truck that was supposed to set off the explosive devices the suspect placed in two ice coolers on Bourbon Street. They didn't go off.
Authorities also are investigating a possible act of terror in Las Vegas after a Tesla Cybertruck parked just outside the Trump International Hotel exploded Wednesday, injuring several bystanders. Spencer Evans, the FBI's special agent in charge, told reporters a connection to a terrorist organization has not been found. Las Vegas officials said the person in the vehicle, a Green Beret on active duty named Matthew Livelsberger, died by suicide from a gunshot in the mouth before the explosion, adding that the truck's design limited the damage.
Biden said Wednesday that federal authorities were investigating whether there was a link between the two attacks. But FBI officials said Thursday there was no connection they could discern.
On the streets of New Orleans, tourists and workers filled the storied French Quarter restaurants and shops Thursday as the city awaited the reopening of Bourbon Street, which took place around 1 p.m. The FBI had closed the popular tourist destination, the beating heart of New Orleans, on Wednesday for the investigation.
Federal officials turned the street back over to local control early Thursday and authorities reopened it hours before the postponed Sugar Bowl college football game was to kick off Thursday afternoon at the nearby, 70,000-seat Superdome.
New Year's Day vehicle attack: New Orleans was replacing bollard street barriers at time of deadly rampage
Developments:
? Biden convened members of his homeland security team in the White House Situation Room to receive an update on the investigation into the New Orleans attack.
? David Scott, the assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, on Thursday briefed the House Homeland Security Committee members and staffers, along with members of the Louisiana delegation, on the truck attack.
What we know about the attacker: Why did he target a New Year's Eve crowd?
Jabbar planted explosives in ice coolers, Biden says
Biden revealed the details about the detonator Jabbar had in his truck during a news conference after meeting with Homeland Security officials in the White House Situation Room. The explosives the assailant placed in ice coolers at separate intersections of Bourbon Street did not detonate.
“We have no information that anyone else is involved in the attack,” Biden also said at the media briefing, reiterating the FBI’s assessment announced earlier Thursday. “They've established that the attacker was the same person who planted the explosives in those ice coolers in two nearby locations in the French Quarter.”
Jabbar posted five videos on social media expressing support for the Islamic State terror group over approximately an hour and a half before the 3:15 a.m. CST attack, according to the FBI. An ISIS flag was found in the back of the truck.
Biden said law enforcement officials “have not found any evidence” linking the New Orleans attack with an explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. The suspect in both cases have U.S. military ties.
“I directed my team to accelerate these investigations so we have answers to our unanswered questions and making every single resource available to get the job done,” Biden said. “And we're going to share the facts as soon as I learn them so the American public don't have to wonder.”
Lots of parallels but no known link between assailants
The similarities in the high-profile New Year's Day attacks are striking: Both were perpetrated by men who served in the Army, were stationed in the same North Carolina military base and did tours of duty in Afghanistan at the same time.
In addition, both carried out their assaults using electric trucks rented from the same company.
But federal investigators say there is no known link between Jabbar and Livelsberger, who were five years apart in age, nor a connection between their deadly actions in New Orleans and Las Vegas, respectively. Authorities noted their investigations are ongoing.
"At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas," the FBI's Raia said Thursday.
? Lauren Villagran
No 'credible threat' ahead of tragedy
Authorities assessed no "credible threat" to New Orleans' New Year's events prior to the attack, according to a joint Louisiana and New Orleans police threat assessment obtained by Reuters. The document is dated December 2024 and notes there was no credible threat from international terrorists or domestic violent extremists.
The document notes that “unaffiliated lone offenders and homegrown violent extremists” are of particular concern because of their ability to “remain undetected until operational.” The police departments also say that foreign terrorist organizations and their affiliates “continue to call on individuals to conduct independent attacks in the U.S” using improvised explosive devices and vehicles.
Sugar Bowl observations: Extra security, silence for attack victims
The 2025 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Thursday featured heightened security, a moment of silence, and chants of "USA", one day after the deadly attack less than a mile from the famous stadium.
A Notre Dame Fighting Irish player carried an American flag as his team took the field to face the Georgia Bulldogs at the Superdome in what was also the college football playoffs quarterfinal. Fans entering the stadium met an increased police presence and enhanced security checks, and chants of "USA, USA" could be heard after the pre-game singing of the national anthem at the 83,000-capacity stadium.
"I'm looking forward to it just so we can at least smile a little bit today," Jerrold Sneed, the father of Notre Dame linebacker Jaylen Sneed, said before the game.
After the game, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard offered condolences to those impacted by the attack and praised the fans who packed into the stadium.
"It has been a very hard week and our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families affected. We're praying for them," Leonard said.
— Reuters
Relative of Jabbar stunned by attack
A family member, who did not wish to be identified citing safety concerns, said, “I don’t think he did this of his own free will.”
“I could never see him doing that,” the person said. “Maybe he just went… If he did ... he may have just went crazy. I just don’t see it happening.”
The relative said the Jabbar family is “doing all right,” but they are still in shock over the events in New Orleans.
? Phaedra Trethan
Bourbon Street reopens and hospitality staff rejoices
Bourbon Street reopened for business around 1 p.m. local time Thursday, and tourists immediately began flooding in amid a heavy police presence.
“We open! We open!” called security guard Harry Walker, 32, as he swung back the doors to one of the street’s multiple Slush Daiquiris bars.
Walker said the street’s closure has hurt bartenders and other servers who depend heavily on tourist tips. Louisiana’s minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 an hour.
Among the first visitors was Ashleigh Armstrong, who came to the city with family from west Tennessee to celebrate her 40th birthday. They had begun their trip to New Orleans on Wednesday before they knew about the terror attack.
“It’s somber. It’s surreal,” Armstrong said. “Without the crowds you see stuff you’ve never seen before."
Earlier in the day, tourists decked out in Georgia and Notre Dame football gear appeared eager to get back to normal, lining up for jazz brunch outside multiple restaurants as they waited for Bourbon Street to reopen. Inside the French Truck Coffee restaurant on Canal Street, general manager Beth Walker drew cheers from assembled tourists waiting in line as she hyped the Notre Dame-Georgia game.
“We appreciate you giving the city a chance,” she said to loud cheers. “We all appreciate it.”
'100% inspired by ISIS': A timeline of driver's movements before New Orleans attack
Jihadi ‘fanboys’ celebrate New Orleans attack; no word from ISIS
While official Islamic State channels haven’t yet commented on the massacre in New Orleans, there have been some “tentative celebrations” on social media from ISIS “fanboys,” an expert on jihadi communications said Thursday.
“The fanboys or girls are excited about a successful attack on the U.S., which they haven’t had in a while,” said Devorah Margolin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Jabbar had pledged allegiance to the global terrorist group in videos made before the attack, officials said. ISIS “has a history of acknowledging attacks that were not organized by the Islamic State without taking responsibility,” Margolin said.
For example, ISIS celebrated a 2015 mass shooting in San Bernadino, California, carried out by a married couple who decided to kill in the group’s name. So far, ISIS hasn’t had anything to say about Jabbar’s act of mass murder. An official acknowledgement of the New Orleans attack could take days.
Since the so-called ISIS “caliphate” was smashed in Syria in 2019, the group’s centralized propaganda operation, once known for its slick jihadi recruitment videos, has been scattered across the globe and “is not what it once was,” Margolin said.
– Dan Morrison
Security expert: Stopping terrorist willing to die is 'very difficult'
Dale Buckner, CEO of the international security firm Global Guardian, told USA TODAY the primary takeaway from the attack is that "anything can happen anywhere." Large public celebrations, Christmas markets, concerts and religious services are high-value “soft targets” for Islamic extremists, he said. New Orleans and other cities will need to reevaluate their security efforts, he said.
"Terrorists will always take the path of least resistance and stopping someone willing to die is very difficult," Buckner said. If bollards had been in place to block vehicle access, Jabbar "could have easily wrapped IEDs around himself in a makeshift suicide vest and walked into a crowded bar," Buckner said.
Jabbar lived in mostly Muslim community in Houston
In northern Houston, media descended on the street where Jabbar lived. The community, full of double-wide and mobile homes, is predominantly Muslim, according to Jabbar’s neighbor, who asked not to be named. He said he last saw Jabbar on New Year’s Eve morning loading up a white pickup.
The neighbor said nothing looked suspicious, that what Jabbar was packing in the vehicle looked like “hand-held items.” Jabbar was a quiet, calm and “non-violent,” neighbor who moved in more than a year ago but had said he planned to move to Louisiana, the man said.
“He was quiet. Not bother anybody. Not touching anybody. I have a family, so I would have been afraid for that type of person to be here, but no,” the neighbor said.
Houston has the largest Muslim population in Texas and in the southern U.S. Ramadan Khairallah, a manager at Ramadan Halal Meat Market a few miles from Jabbar's home, told USA TODAY Network reporters he's not worried about backlash against the community after the New Orleans attack, even though there have been previous anti-Muslim incidents in the area.
"The people that are around us and stuff, there's nothing to be concerned about from them,” Khairallah said. “Nothing but positive energy in here."
? John Oliva and Karoline Leonard
Islamic State not the group it once was
The so-called Islamic State organization that appears to have inspired Jabbar peaked as a fighting force about 10 years ago. At its height, the Islamic State controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria from which itlaunched attacks in the region and beyond, including a series of high-profile assaults in France.
The group's last physical presence in Syria was captured and dismantled in 2019 by a U.S.-led coalition numbering dozens of countries. Its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, was killed in a U.S. raid on his compound in northern Syria later that year. Current leader Abu Hafs al Qurayshi took over in August 2023 but little is publicly known about him or his priorities.
Since Baghdadi's death the Islamic State's aggressive media operation, which fueled much of its recruitment drive in the West, has dwindled.
“ISIS will remain a centralized global organization even as it has been forced to rely on regional branches ... (and will attempt) to conduct and inspire global attacks against the West and Western interests," the Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. intelligence community said in its most recent report, published in 2024.
? Kim Hjelmgaard
New Orleans attack victims: A former college football player, a beloved daughter among the dead
Witness heard 'crunching metal and bodies'
Witnesses described a terrifying scene as the attack in New Orleans unfolded.
"There were people everywhere," said Kimberly Strickland of Mobile, Alabama. "You just heard this squeal and the rev of the engine and this huge loud impact and then the people screaming and debris ? just metal ? the sound of crunching metal and bodies."
A father, a mother, a former football player among those killed
Loved ones have begun to identify some of the victims of the truck attack. Law enforcement and officials in New Orleans have not publicly identified any of the victims, but family and friends said the fatalities include Martin "Tiger" Bech, 28, a former Princeton football player; Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, an 18-year-old recent high school graduate; Reggie Hunter, 37, a father of two; and Nicole Perez, 27, a mother.
A University of Georgia student was critically injured in the assault, university President Jere Morehead said in a statement. Also critically injured were two 19-year-old women from Fort Myers, Florida: Elle Eisele, a University of Georgia student, and Steele Idelson, a San Diego State University student, according to a statement from The Canterbury School.
Two Israeli citizens were also hurt, and a consulate representative is traveling to New Orleans, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X. The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X two Mexicans were injured, both reportedly in stable condition. Read more here.
? N'dea Yancey-Bragg
What was the location of New Orleans attack?
Tens of thousands of revelers descend on the city each year to ring in the New Year and to attend the prestigious Sugar Bowl college football game. The attack took place around 3:15 a.m. in the heart of the historic French Quarter, an area known for music and bars that draw big crowds.
About 400 officers were on duty in the French Quarter at the time of the incident, including a number who had established a makeshift barrier to prevent anyone from driving into the pedestrian zone, police said.
Revelry to terror: How the deadly New Orleans truck attack unfolded
Louisiana lieutenant governor criticizes mayor following attack
Louisiana Lt. Gov. Bill Nungesser said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell failed to do enough to protect the city's residents and visitors from the deadly attack early Wednesday.
"I'm angry," Nungesser said in an interview with the USA TODAY Network, calling Cantrell and her administration "dysfunctional."
"It's a clear lack of leadership," said Nungesser, the state's chief tourism officer.
Nungesser blamed Cantrell for not having a functional barrier system in place that may have prevented Jabbar from accessing Bourbon Street in a Ford 150 pickup truck and plowing through the crowd of people. Instead, police blocked the street with an SUV, which the suspect circumvented by driving onto the sidewalk around the cruiser.
"To think that someone in the city wasn't on top of this is unthinkable," Nungesser said.
In a statement to the USA TODAY Network, the city said it would work closely with partners after the incident and that the "City of New Orleans will not be distracted by outside commentary and welcomes everyone to join the positive efforts of the unified command partners." Read more here.
— Greg Hilburn, Shreveport Times
Who is Shamsud-Din Jabbar?
Jabbar, 42, was a U.S. citizen and Army veteran from Texas, the FBI said. The agency said in a statement an ISIS flag was found in Jabbar's rented truck. Raia said the bureau has recovered three phones and two laptops that belonged to Jabbar.
Jabbar was in the Army from March 2007 until January 2015 and then in the Army Reserve until July 2020, an Army spokesperson said. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of his service.
Court records in Texas show Jabbar, who had been married and divorced twice, had written of financial troubles during his legal ups and downs with wives. As he negotiated his second divorce two years ago, his attorney attached records to court files indicating Jabbar’s finances were compromised.
“Time is of the essence. I cannot afford the house payment. It is past due in excess of $27,000 and in danger of foreclosure if we delay settling the divorce,” Jabbar wrote to his attorney in January 2022.
Did New Orleans suspect act alone? Authorities conduct an urgent search
Security barriers were being replaced when attack happened
Officials said security barriers along Bourbon Street had been malfunctioning and were in the process of being replaced. The older barriers ? known as bollards ? were being replaced ahead of the city hosting Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, which will be played about a mile from where the attack occurred, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said during a news conference Wednesday.
As a temporary measure, police vehicles and officers attempted to provide a barrier, Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.
"We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it," Kirkpatrick said. Read more here.
Tesla Cybertruck explosion: Blast near Las Vegas Trump hotel investigated as possible terror act
Vehicles in New Orleans, Vegas incidents rented from same company
Turo confirmed Wednesday that the vehicles involved in the Las Vegas explosion and New Orleans attack were rented from the car rental service.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," Turo said in a statement. "We are devastated by these horrible incidents, and remain dedicated to helping the authorities however we can."
Turo said its trust and safety team is working with law enforcement to "share any information that could be helpful in their investigations." Turo also said it does not believe either renter had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat and that the company was not aware of any information suggesting the two incidents are related.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen; Tom Vanden Brook, Bart Jansen, Claire Thornton, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New Orleans attack updates: FBI says truck driver acted alone