New Orleans pickup truck ramming apparent attack

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Ten people have been killed and 30 injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd in New Orleans’ tourist district in the early hours of New Year’s Day, according to officials, with local media reporting the driver later fired a gun.

The city’s official disaster preparedness agency, Nola Ready, released a statement on a “mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street”.

The area is part of city’s French Quarter, which is a popular nightlife destination.

CBS News and CNN cited witnesses reporting that the driver had also fired a gun.

CBS said one of its reporters, Kati Weis, saw multiple people on the ground with injuries. It said witnesses had told Weis that the driver of the vehicle fired a weapon, with police returning fire.

A New Orleans police department spokesperson was quoted by CBS News as saying, “initial reports show a car may have ploughed into a group of people.”

CNN quoted a witness, Kevin Garcia, 22, as saying: “All I seen was a truck slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk.

New Orleans police superintendent calls driver's actions "very intentional"
Investigators are certain that the person who drove a vehicle through a crowd in the French Quarter on Wednesday morning did not do so accidentally, the leader of the New Orleans Police Department said.

“It did involve a man driving a pickup truck down Bourbon Street at a very fast pace, and it was very intentional behavior,” said police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick. “This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could.”

The superintendent added police don’t think what happened was the result of impairment.

“It was not a DUI situation,” she said. “This was more complex and more serious based on the information we have right now.”

Driver shot 2 officers, New Orleans police chief says
A man driving a pickup truck down Bourbon Street “at a very fast pace” killed 10 people and fired on New Orleans Police officers, striking two who are in stable condition, police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said Wednesday morning.

FBI investigating possible explosive devices at scene
As the investigation continues into the deadly scene of a truck mowing through pedestrians in the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, federal law enforcement agents are also checking on possible improvised explosives at the scene.

“There were improvised explosive devices that was found, and we are working on confirming if it’s a viable device or not,” said Alethea Duncan, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the FBI’s New Orleans office.

Duncan declined to answer reporters asking for more details about how many suspected devices they are examining.

Video from CNN affiliate WDSU showed a law enforcement robot being used to examine the underside of the vehicle.

Suspect in New Orleans attack is dead, according to law enforcement official
The suspect in the New Orleans attack is dead, a federal law enforcement official tells CNN.

The FBI is now investigating the New Orleans tragedy “as an act of terrorism”
The FBI is investigating the deadly New Orleans incident at an “act of terrorism,” the bureau said in a statement.

“This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others,” the FBI said in a statement. “The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”

Earlier, an FBI agent said the incident was “not a terrorist event,” while the mayor called it a “terrorist attack.”

The FBI typically establishes certain factors to determine whether an incident can be treated as a terrorism investigation, which could explain the earlier discrepancy between federal and local officials.

ATF is at the scene of the deadly New Orleans crowd attack
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is on the scene of the New Orleans incident where at least 10 people were killed and dozens were injured when a driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd during New Year’s celebrations on Bourbon Street.

“ATF is on the scene assisting our partners,” the federal agency said Wednesday, adding that no additional information is available.

In these kinds of investigations, the ATF can help investigate any incendiary devices found at a crime scene. The FBI, which is leading the investigation, previously said it was investigating at least one possible improvised explosive device found at the scene.

Homeland Security assisting in New Orleans investigation
The Department of Homeland Security is coordinating with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the wake of this morning’s incident in New Orleans, according to a Homeland Security official.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is in touch with officials, including members of the Louisiana congressional delegation, the official said.

Bourbon Street attack suspect identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar
The suspect accused of mowing down a crowd of New Year's revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday has been identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar, Fox News Digital has confirmed.

Jabbar is a 42-year-old resident of Houston, Texas. Police shot and killed him after he crashed his pickup truck and began to shoot at officers.

A Glock handgun and .308 caliber rifle equipped with optics and a sensor were recovered from the crime scene, according to a high-level source familiar who was not authorized to discus details of the investigation publicly.

An ISIS flag was also found on the pickup truck.

There are at least four to five other suspects involved, the source said.

Truck used in Bourbon Street attack had Texas plates, crossed southern border days ago: sources
Fox News has learned that the truck used in the Bourbon Street attack had a Texas license plate and crossed the southern border last month.

Two federal law enforcement sources who were not authorized to speak publicly said the pickup truck used in the attack was tracked crossing the southern border into the U.S. at Eagle Pass, Texas, on November 16th. The identification of the driver who crossed the border does not appear to be the shooter, the sources said.

It has not been confirmed that the attacker was driving the vehicle when it crossed the border. Police have also not confirmed the attacker's immigration status.

The driver, a male, reportedly jumped out of the vehicle and opened fire on police after hitting the crowd. The brief shootout ended with the suspect dead at the scene, authorities confirmed. Police say 35 people have been transported to five hospitals across the city after suffering injuries from the attack.

Former FBI official says it is 'premature' to label Bourbon Street attack a terror incident
Former FBI assistant director Chris Swecker said it is premature for law enforcement to call the Bourbon Street attack an act of terror.

Swecker said that based on the publicly available facts this was "an intentional planned suicide attack." But he would not call it a terrorist attack until the driver and his motive are known. "As a security professional, an act like this is very predictable and thus preventable. It's happened twice in New Orleans, it just happened in Germany and these attacks tend to be viral type events," Swecker told Fox News Digital.

"What I mean by that it is copycats motivated by highlighting their cause perpetrate a similar type attack. It's nearly impossible to protect an entire venue like Canal Street but if this vehicle penetrated the actual perimeter of the event then perhaps you can draw the conclusion that there was some complacency and not sealing off the event from vehicle attacks."

Swecker said the most important job for police officers in New Orleans during a holiday like New Year's is to set up a perimeter around where large crowds of people are gathered.

"You have to question how a truck got through the perimeter. I can see a loan gunman getting through, it's hard to fathom a truck breaching that perimeter."

Suspect in deadly New Orleans attack was a US citizen, sources say
The suspect in Wednesday’s deadly New Orleans crowd attack was a US citizen, two sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

Officials have not released additional information on the suspect, who died at the scene.

Suspect in deadly New Orleans incident had an ISIS flag at the time of the attack, sources say
One of the sources also said multiple suspected explosive devices were found in an ice chest in the pickup truck used in the attack.

Truck used in attack was listed on car rental site Turo, owner tells CNN
The truck used in the attack that killed at least 10 people in New Orleans on New Year’s Day was listed on the car rental site Turo, the vehicle’s owner told CNN in a text message.

Two federal law enforcement officials also told CNN the truck did not belong to the suspect. One of the sources added it was rented on a site that owners use to rent out their own cars.

The vehicle, a white Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck, is registered to a Houston man who has worked for the car dealership where the vehicle was sold, according to public records based on the vehicle’s license plate. The man told CNN the vehicle was listed on Turo, a website that allows owners to rent out their vehicles to other people.

He did not answer additional questions about the renter or the truck.

One of the man’s listings on Turo is for a truck that matches the one used in the attack, although photos on the Turo page only have a temporary license plate and don’t show the same plate as the one in New Orleans.

Turo did not respond to a request for comment, but the site disabled the truck for renting Wednesday morning. Before it was disabled, the vehicle was listed as costing $105 a day, excluding taxes and fees, and it was unavailable to rent until 12:30 p.m. CST on Wednesday.

The FBI is continuing to investigate the suspect’s potential ties to Texas, one of the officials said.

Steel barricades were not in raised position, witnesses say
Jose Lieras, a tourist to New Orleans from Los Angeles, told CNN affiliate WDSU that metal barricades at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street were not in a raised position during New Year’s festivities, seconding what an earlier eyewitness told CNN.

Lieras said he was surprised that vehicles were allowed to drive through the crowded street in the first place.


“I don’t know why they’re still letting cars go through Bourbon Street. Even last night, which I was there, there was still like, at midnight, 1 in the morning, there’s still cars driving by, even though there’s people walking all over the street. You’ve got to dodge cars,” he said. “So I don’t think they should let any vehicles at all. It should always be blocked off at nighttime because something like this could have happened.”

Another man, Michael Guillory, who works at a nearby hotel, told WDSU he’s “never” seen those steel barricades put up in seven years.

What we know: The steel barricades were installed in 2017 in the wake of the 2016 truck ramming attack in Nice, France, and various drunk driving crashes on Bourbon Street over the years. The barricades can be set in a flat or raised position to allow or prevent vehicles from the area.

New Orleans police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said Wednesday morning the attacker drove the vehicle “around our barricades in order to conduct this.”

Investigators have identified Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, as the suspect who intentionally rammed his vehicle into New Orleans revelers early on New Year's Day.

Jabbar, a U.S Army veteran from Texas, is accused of plowing a pickup truck into crowds around 3:15 a.m. on Bourbon Street, killing at least 10 people and injuring 35 more.

Officials said he drove onto a sidewalk, bypassing a police car that had been parked to block cars from accessing pedestrians celebrating on Bourbon Street, before slamming into a crowd of revelers.

Witnesses described a terrifying and bloody scene as people attempted to jump out of the way or take cover in nearby bars.

"We heard the truck barrel by as more people piled in," said New Orleans resident Jimmy Cothran, who watched the carnage unfold from a nightclub balcony.

According to preliminary information, Jabbar had a black flag affixed to the hitch of the pickup truck he allegedly drove into the crowd. Officials are investigating whether that flag is related to the terrorist group ISIS and any connections he had with terrorist organizations.

The incident is being investigated both as a terrorist attack and a crime scene, federal and local officials said.

"We’re leaning in. We will be relentless, and we will do everything that it takes to render real justice," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said during a news conference.

New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said Jabbar drove onto the sidewalk and around a “hard target” — which included officers, barriers and a car — to carry out the attack.

The pickup truck that authorities say he drove into unsuspecting revelers appears to have been a rented F-150 Lightning truck, according to photos from the aftermath of the incident.

Car-sharing marketplace Turo said that the vehicle in the attack was rented from its company.

The FBI, which is leading the investigation, said weapons and potential improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, were located in the suspect’s car and in the French Quarter.

Officials are looking into at least two improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that may have been planted near the incident area to see if those were actual explosive devices and if they were operable.

Jabbar served in the Army on active duty from 2006 to 2015, then in the Army Reserves from 2015 to 2020, according to three U.S. defense officials.

He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and served as an administrative clerk. He was a staff sergeant in 2020 when he was honorably discharged.

Separately, he tried to enlist in the Navy in 2004 but never shipped or began training, according to a spokesperson.

Texas criminal records show that Jabbar had previously been charged in 2002 for a misdemeanor theft and in 2005 for driving with an invalid license.

Civil records show Jabbar was married twice, with his first marriage ending in 2012. A petition for a second divorce was initiated in 2021.

A woman who identified herself as Jabbar’s sister-in-law and asked to not be named said relatives in Texas were in shock when they heard the news.

“It don’t make no sense,” she said. “He’s the nicest person I’ve ever known.”

I really don’t know what happened,” she added. “He was a good man. He takes care of his children and everything.”

She said some family members were heading from Texas to New Orleans.

Federal officials and local law enforcement in New Orleans are investigating if Din Jabbar used a long-gun rifle and fired it into the crowd as he ran people over, three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told NBC News.

FBI does not believe suspect was 'solely responsible' for attack, seeks public's help
The FBI said it does not believe Shamsud Din Jabbar was "solely responsible" for the Bourbon Street attack and asked for the public's assistance.

“We’re aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates," said Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office.

"That’s why we need the public’s help. We’re asking if anybody has any interactions with Shamsud Din Jabbar in the last 72 hours that you contact us," she said at an afternoon news conference. "The FBI is asking the public’s help. We’re asking anyone who has information, video or pictures to provide it to the FBI.”

Duncan said an ISIS flag was found on the trailer hitch of the vehicle the suspect was driving. The FBI is working to determine Jabbar's "potential associations and affiliations with terroristic organizations," she said.

Houston FBI investigating activity related to New Orleans attack
The FBI's Houston field office and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said that they are “conducting law enforcement activity” in Houston related to the New Orleans attack.

The agencies said in a statement they have secured a perimeter in north Houston and are asking people to avoid the area. Law enforcement personnel are expected to be in the area for several hours.

The Sugar Bowl has officially been postponed
The Sugar Bowl has been postponed 24 hours, Jeff Hundley, the CEO of the college football bowl game, announced at a press conference Wednesday.

The game has been played annually in New Orleans since 1935. This year’s matchup is a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between Notre Dame and Georgia. The game is now scheduled to take place on Thursday.

Don't worry everyone, Unca Donald will fix everything.

Federal authorities are investigating whether there may be a link between Wednesday's fatal truck assault in New Orleans and a deadly blast outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas just hours later, President Joe Biden told the nation.

The Las Vegas incident killed one, injured seven, forced an evacuation of the hotel and sent terrified guests pouring from the building Wednesday afternoon. It

“We’re tracking the explosion of a cyber truck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas," Biden said in public remarks. "Law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating this as well, including whether there's any possible connection with attack in New Orleans.”

The driver in the attack has been identified by the FBI as Shamsud Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran who lived in Texas. Jabbar appeared to be carrying an ISIS flag and was dressed in military gear, the FBI said.

“He posted videos on social media indicating that is inspired by ISIS expressing the desire to kill, desire to kill," Biden said. "The ISIS flag was found in his vehicle, which he rented to conduct this attack. Possible explosives were found in the vehicle as well and more explosive were were found nearby."

The terrorist behind the deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans posted videos online proclaiming his support for the Islamic State terror group before he rammed his truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street, killing at least 14, the FBI said Thursday.

As Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, made his way to Louisiana from his home in Texas on New Year’s Eve, he gave his social media followers a glimpse of his violent plan and radical thinking, according to Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division.

In a series of Facebook videos posted shortly before the attack, according to Raia, Jabbar said he had originally planned to hurt his family and friends, but pivoted when he grew concerned that news headlines would not focus on the “war between the believers and the disbelievers.”

“This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act,” Raia said, adding that Jabbar acted alone. “He was 100 percent inspired by ISIS.”

Investigators believe Jabbar, an Army veteran, picked up his rented white Ford truck in Houston on Dec. 30 and then headed for New Orleans the next evening.

He posted five Facebook videos from about 1:30 a.m. to just after 3 a.m. on Tuesday, in which he says he joined ISIS before this summer, Raia said. Jabbar, who was fatally shot by police, also provided a will and testament, Raia said.

Instead of targeting his family, Jabbar set his sights on historic Bourbon Street, though Raia said authorities do not yet fully understand why. The popular tourist area in the French Quarter, which is filled with bars and restaurants, was expected to be busy on New Year’s Eve.

Surveillance video shows Jabbar personally placing a cooler with an improvised explosive device on Bourbon Street and another one about two blocks away, Raia said. The devices did not detonate and were later rendered safe.

“We’re confident at this point that he had no accomplices,” he said.

Raia said the FBI has received more than 400 tips from the public, which came from New Orleans and other parts of the country, as he urged more people who had any interaction with the terrorist to come forward.

“We are looking in everything in his life,” he said. “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.”

The FBI recovered three cellphones and two laptops linked to Jabbar, Raia said, adding that investigators were working to determine the content of the devices.

Jabbar had been working for professional services giant Deloitte in a staff-level role since 2021, the company confirmed to NBC News. He attended Georgia State University from 2015 to 2017 and graduated with a BBA in computer information systems, a university spokesperson said.

Civil records show Jabbar was married twice, with his first marriage ending in 2012 and his second in 2022.