FBI Says New Orleans Terrorist Did Not Act Alone When He Mowed Down New Year’s Eve Revelers, Killing 15

The man who rammed a pickup truck through a crowd at New Orleans and fired on police officers did not act alone, an FBI spokeswoman said Wednesday as Louisiana law enforcement officials said they found explosive devices in the French Quarter. The man, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, who was born and raised in Texas, was flying the black flag of the terrorist group ISIS on the back of his rented, white Ford pickup truck when he mowed down the crowd early Wednesday morning, killing 15 and injuring dozens more. “We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” Ms. Duncan said at a press conference Wednesday. She added that two IEDs were located in the French Quarter and defused by bomb technicians. Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Several streets were shut down and hotels evacuated as a result of the terrorist attack.After killing the 15 individuals on Bourbon Street, Jabbar exited the vehicle and got into a shootout with police officers, which resulted in his death. Two officers were shot and were receiving medical treatment. Ms. Duncan said they were not in critical condition. The hunt for other potential terrorists is moving swiftly after FBI initially insisted the 3:15 a.m. crash was not a terrorist incident. That statement was revised mid-morning as evidence showed a more calculated attack than was previously stated. At an afternoon press conference featuring the city’s mayor, LaToya Cantrell; police superintendent, Anne Kirkpatrick; Louisiana’s governor, Jeff Landry; New Orleans Congressman Troy Carter; and Senator Kennedy, Ms. Duncan said the FBI is asking for the public’s help to assist the massive deployment of investigators and law enforcement officers.The FBI is looking at “a range of suspects, which is why at this time we do not want to rule anything out,” Ms. Duncan said.Jabbar spent 10 years in the Army and Ms. Duncan said she believes he was honorably discharged. Video circulating the Internet shows him in 2020 talking about his role as a real estate agent and property management lead for a company in Texas. In the video, he says he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, and lived in Houston. He also worked in the Army as a human resources and IT specialist.Jabbar, who has been married and divorced twice, evidently converted to Islam and began acting “all crazy, cutting his hair,” The New York Times reported, citing a man who was married to Jabbar’s first wife, Nakedra Charrlle, Dwayne Marsh. Mr. Marsh and his wife stopped visitation between Jabbar and his two daughters, the Times reported. Another report added that his second wife, whom he also divorced, sought a restraining order against Jabbar.As a result of the attack, the annual Sugar Bowl, which is played every New Year’s Day in New Orleans, was delayed by 24 hours. “We have been in consultation with ESPN, with the College Football Playoff, with the Southeastern Conference, with the University of Georgia, with Notre Dame, all parties,” the Sugar Bowl chief executive, Jeff Hundley, said. “And all agree that it’s in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game for 24 hours.”Mr. Landry said that he is deploying 100 military police to secure the city ahead of the Sugar Bowl as well as Super Bowl LIX, which is being played at the city’s Superdome on February 9. He also issued an emergency declaration to “allow federal, state and local partners to bring all of the resources necessary to get this city safe.”Mr. Kennedy said he wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to the FBI while they are “in the process of trying to catch the other bad guys” but he wants a full accounting of what was behind the attack.“Here’s what I wanna ask of the federal government: catch these people. Catch these people and tell the American people the truth,” Mr. Kennedy said. “I will raise fresh hell, and I will chase those in the federal government responsible for telling us what happened.”

FBI Says New Orleans Terrorist Did Not Act Alone When He Mowed Down New Year’s Eve Revelers, Killing 15

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